Kimberly Dowdell talks about sustainability and being a trailblazer

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[["a",["href","https:\/\/www.hok.com\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.noma.net\/","target","_new"]],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/articles\/6522212-kimberly-dowdell-on-her-time-as-noma-presi","target","_new"]],["b"],["a",["href","https:\/\/www.aia.org\/resources\/6077668-framework-for-design-excellence"]]],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, will be the first Black woman president in the history of AIA when she takes office in 2024."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Elected as 2023 First VP\/2024 President-elect at the 2022 AIA Annual Meeting in June, Ms. Dowdell is currently Marketing Principal at global design firm "],[0,[0],1,"HOK."],[0,[],0," She was previously president of the "],[0,[1],1,"National Organization of Minority Architects"],[0,[],0," (NOMA) from 2019-2020."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"In the second of our two-part interview with Ms. Dowdell, she talks about sustainability in the field of architecture, advice for young architects, and what it means to be a trailblazer in the profession. Check out part one "],[0,[2],1,"here"],[0,[],0,". "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"How can architects be more accessible?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"There seems to be a misconception about what architects do and\nwhat architecture is all about. I\u2019d love for there to be more awareness about\nour field, which can come through different media outlets. I think a TV show\nthat makes the profession more accessible to the general public would help a\nlot. We had \u201cHow I Met Your Mother\u201d with Ted Mosby, but that was a while ago,\nand of course, \u201cThe Brady Bunch\u201d with Mike Brady a much longer time ago, but\nthere isn\u2019t a lot more architect representation than that in popular culture. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"It would be great for architects to have more of a media\npresence, not just on the entertainment side, but also having architects opine\non relevant built environment issues on news programs. Giving architects a\nheightened platform to share our work would be a really great way to recruit\nand retain more members for AIA. I also think that publicly crediting architects\nfor our work would be a huge step in the right direction in terms of making us\nmore accessible."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Doing a media blitz, whether it\u2019s podcasts, TV, movies, articles,\nsocial media or an emphasis on promoting architecture centers around the world,\nI think there\u2019s a lot of untapped potential. I\u2019d love to see the public really understand\nwhat architects do, so much so that we start to see a trend toward more young\npeople saying \u201cI can see myself doing that when I grow up.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"How can architects better focus on sustainability and\nwhat can AIA do to help?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Buildings play such an important\nrole in our environment and their impact can either help or hurt it. If we\u2019re\nnot careful, our buildings can continue to harm the environment and expedite\nthe climate change that we\u2019re already starting to experience. It\u2019s incumbent upon\nAIA to make sure that all members are equipped with the information they need\nto make optimal choices relative to environmental impact. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The Committee on the Environment (COTE)\nhas been very active in that space, and I commend their efforts through the\nyears, but we as the AIA can continue to raise awareness even further to the\nwider membership as well as the public. We\u2019re all in this together and we need\nto make a more concerted effort to do the things that are necessary to move the\nneedle in the right direction. For example, I think that most clients are open\nto making different decisions on their projects if they\u2019re made aware that an\nalternative approach will help the environment, especially if there\u2019s a way to\nmake an economic case for it. As architects, we must boldly challenge our\nclients to champion climate action alongside us."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Everyone is so busy these days and\nit seems like all firms are understaffed. There is a shortage of architects right\nnow and that makes it much harder to make the time to do the proper analysis and\nadvocacy related to the environmental impact of our design decisions. It would\nbe very helpful if we could leverage the resources made available by the AIA to\nhelp us make the case for heightened environmental stewardship within the\nclient community. The AIA\u2019s "],[0,[4],1,"Framework\nfor Design Excellence"],[0,[],0," is a great place to start, however, we need to\nheighten awareness and expand the tools available to our members."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I think getting more architects\nengaged in politics would also make a difference, serving on City Council or\nrunning for office at various levels of government. How cool would it be if\narchitects did a rotation in public service, so that they could bring a design\nsensibility to the table and offer unique perspectives to the public sector for\na finite period of time? So many people in politics have a legal background,\nand that\u2019s helpful, but I think architects have a huge amount to contribute to\nthe public. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"What advice do you have for\nyoung people who are thinking about becoming architects?"]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Follow your heart and let your\npassion guide you, it won\u2019t lead you wrong. Of course, you\u2019ll likely have to\nmake some tough decisions, and there could be economic roadblocks in the way,\nbut as long as you have a handle on what you want to do and you can communicate\nyour interests clearly, then you can make your ambitions achievable. Becoming\nan architect will take some hard work and unrelenting creativity, but pursue it\nwith everything you\u2019ve got. It\u2019s worth it."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I have a mission statement that I\ndeveloped about a decade ago. Originally it was \u201cto improve the quality of life\nfor people living in cities,\u201d which was rooted in my upbringing in Detroit, but\nmore recently I realized it\u2019s more than just cities that need design care,\nthere\u2019s a lot in this world that isn\u2019t urban. So, my mission has since evolved\nto \u201cimprove the quality of people\u2019s lives, by design.\u201d I share that mission\nwith young people and I encourage them to find their own mission, pursue that,\nand make career decisions that align with their own mission. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"As the first Black woman to lead\nboth NOMA and AIA, can you reflect on your role as a trailblazer in the\nprofession? "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"It\u2019s so meaningful because it\nreally seems to resonate with people, and not just people who match my specific\ndemographic. Going around the AIA Conference on Architecture in Chicago in June\nwas really moving. Some people were a little misty-eyed and that made me\nmisty-eyed, it was an \u201cI\u2019m not crying, you\u2019re crying\u201d kind of situation a\ncouple of times. This historic moment clearly means something to people, and\nthat is very inspiring. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"I recently got a note from a second-year\narchitecture student, a young woman who happens to be African American, who\nwrote to me about her dream of leading affordable housing developments in her\nhometown. She said \u201cI have really big dreams and seeing you get elected makes\nme feel like I can achieve them.\u201d I thought \u201cWow, this is a big part of what my\nelection is all about.\u201d I\u2019m truly honored by this unique privilege."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Being a trailblazer harkens back to\nmy campaign slogan which was \u201cenvision new possibilities.\u201d People who previously\ncouldn\u2019t see themselves as an AIA president now can, and equally as important,\npeople who couldn\u2019t see someone who looks like me in that role can now see that,\neven if they don\u2019t look like me. It\u2019s going to be eye-opening in certain cases,\nand some people will say \u201cOh that\u2019s fine, I guess\u201d. Hopefully people are more\nexcited than that, but even getting to \u201cthat\u2019s fine, I guess\u201d is better than\n\u201cthat isn\u2019t even possible.\u201d "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[3],1,"What would you say to a student\nor young professional who is struggling with whether they want to stay in the\nfield of architecture? "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Anything that is worth doing is\nworth fighting for. Becoming an architect is not an easy aspiration, but it\u2019s\none of the most rewarding professions anyone can pursue. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"One of the greatest things about\nbeing an architect is that you can basically see the future, and you\u2019re often empowered\nto build it. You have a very powerful set of tools that you are privileged to\nuse to shape the way that people will live, work, and play. There are not many other\nprofessions where you are called upon to protect the health, safety and welfare\nof the public. If you want the responsibility and honor of being an architect,\nyou need to put in the work. As I\u2019ve said before, it\u2019s worth it."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Admittedly, the early part of one\u2019s\ncareer in architecture is typically the most challenging. That is probably true\nfor most professions. However, if you\u2019ve made it through architecture school,\nyou have really done most of the heavy lifting already. Keep going. I strongly\nencourage young people, whether still in school or in the first few years of\ntheir careers to lean on their peers and find mentors to help navigate challenges.\nEngaging in your architecture community through organizations like AIA and NOMA\nhelps to build your network and set of available resources as well. Being someone\nwho has chosen architecture as a career path, you have already demonstrated an\ninclination toward creativity. Leverage your creativity to design the career of\nyour dreams and lean on your community to overcome the struggles when they\narise.\n\n"]]]]}