The past two years have been most unpredictable at best, but as it turns out, it has been a time when we have been able to show what we are really made of. Architecture is a beautiful profession, which is why we all choose to do it despite the late nights, migraines, and missed family moments. Our profession affords us the opportunity to create spaces for people to live in, learn in, work in, or interact with each other. While COVID pushed us into our shelters by ourselves, we continued to work on spaces to allow us to come back together, which makes us a profession for optimists. As architects, we could learn from the past two years that there might be different ways to do our job. For instance, we never thought you could ever possibly have a completely virtual office, but for many people, that has worked, or at least partially. And we learned how far 6’0” really is and how often we touch our faces.

This year marked a transition from the COVID crunch and back to some semblance of normalcy. This year in Chicago, nearly 12,000 design professionals gathered for the first Conference on Architecture since 2019’s conference in New York, and plans for 2023 in San Francisco are in the works. I encourage anyone who can attend, as it is an excellent opportunity to see old colleagues and classmates and make new friends who think architecture is as remarkable as you do. It is also a great place to get CEUs and tour some great works of architecture. As a board, we look to host more events next year and get the Lunch and Learn program – or some other in-person CEU programs – rolling for all of us to gather and have a chance to socialize and enjoy professional camaraderie.

This year also marks the start of a long-awaited five-year B-Arch program at TMCC, now accepted as eligible for candidacy with NAAB. This has been a multi-year generational aspiration for many of us in the region to have a local path to licensure. A big thank you to the hard work of our members and allied members that participated and have provided a chance for our next generation. It will need us as a community to continue supporting it, champion the program’s needs, and maybe teach a course or two if called upon.

AIA membership is more than discounts on software and other products or receiving professional recognition from your peers (even though that is nice). It is the opportunity to make a difference for the profession, advocate on behalf of the profession, and, my favorite, talk with others who are as passionate as you are about what we do. Nerding out over architecture is something my spouse can handle only so much of, and other architects rarely tire of the subject. I want to thank all the board members, committee chairs, and volunteers for the efforts they put in to make our chapter work and create events we can all enjoy, like, Canstruction, AIA at the Aces, and the golf tournament.

With the opportunity to make a difference for our chapter, I want to inform you that next year we need a new Director, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Thank you for the opportunity to have represented you as your chapter president for the past year, and I look forward to seeing you at our next event.

Marshall Cowan AIA, NCARB