This past month was busy and inspiring! The 2026 Lecture Series this past month focused on Materials allowed us to hear four perspectives on architecture and landscape. We saw local projects such as Glenstone Museum, tree houses in Sweden, and robotics research in landscape of South America. Thank you to the Lecture Series committee and staff for their time and efforts to bring these amazing speakers to Baltimore.
In addition to the lecture series, AIA Baltimore participated in Architecture Week focused on K-12 educational programming. Providing inspiration and visibility of our profession to our future architects! Our Chapter received a grant which we used for the program “Lunch with an Architect”. This program had professionals in the architecture and design industry visit Baltimore Design School students to share their education, career paths and their work over lunch. Thank you to Jerome Gray, MacKenzie Twardus, Dustin Watson, and Ariana Parrish for participating and sharing their stories. Senior architecture students at Baltimore Design School were also celebrated by wearing t-shirts designed by their classmate for the Architecture Week T-Shirt contest! Congratulations to the winning student, Zya.
I want to highlight a few committees each month and encourage you to take a closer look and become involved in the continuance and evolution of these committees:
Future Architects Resources (Kids in Design)
This committee has their pulse on the local schools and works tirelessly to bolster those connections through planning creative programs that encourage our local youth to consider design as a future!
This committee has a new location each month and is focused on creating a strong connected community of emerging professionals. They focus on educating, networking and support for younger architects. All emerging professionals should be attending and involved in this energetic group.
This committee is supporting our efforts to understand our local design community and programs through the lens of JEDI. The committee is gathering data to evaluate the performance of our chapter, identify areas for enhancement, and advance support for our JEDI objectives.
We just finished the 2026 lecture series and planning for the 2027 series will start soon. This is your chance to influence and shape the upcoming series.
Finally, we have a task force that is developing a program for our chapter’s Mid-Career Architects. To determine which areas would be most beneficial, the task force will host an after-work gathering for mid-career architects who are interested in fostering a more connected and supportive professional community. Whether you’re navigating leadership transitions, seeking mentorship, or simply looking to expand your network, this meetup offers space to exchange ideas and discuss what meaningful support could look like in the next chapter of your career. This Mid-Career Architects Happy Hour will be held at the Center on May 28 / 5:30-7:30.
As always, I look forward to seeing many of you at our next gathering. If you would like to schedule a call or zoom meeting for further discussion- please reach out to me.
