Learn about these projects and view the jury comments and submissions
Category: News
2025 Accessibility – NEW on-demand programs by AIA California
These programs can be taken individually, or bundled to ensure members obtain their full 5hr requirement.
Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth
(75 minutes, 1.25 AIA/HSW Units)
Mithun partners Brendan Connolly, AIA, LEED AP, and Dorothy Faris, ASLA, present the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth in Vancouver, Washington, where designers and researchers translated DeafSpace design principles to create a welcoming, accessible and inclusive facility. They also explore how an exposed mass timber wood structure reinforced these principles and how the biophilic benefits of wood helped frame strategies for multisensory wayfinding in this extraordinary collection of gathering and teaching spaces.
Willie Woo Woo Wong Playground and Clubhouse Renovation
(75 minutes, 1.25 AIA/HSW Units)
This case study of the Willie Woo Woo Wong Playground and Clubhouse renovation in San Francisco’s Chinatown illustrates how to design an accessible and inclusive facility on a steeply sloping site. Scott Davis, AIA, of Jensen Architects and Willett Moss, PLA, FAAR, FASLA, of CMG Landscape Architecture discuss Universal Design features, accessible paths of travel, exterior transfer stations, interior lifts, companion seating and access to equivalent spaces. They also discuss how the City and County of San Francisco’s accessibility requirements influenced the renovation of one of San Francisco’s historic and culturally significant recreational facilities.
Accessibility, Historic Preservation + Adaptive Reuse
(60 minutes, 1.0 AIA/HSW Units)
D. Rocky Rockefeller, AIA, of Rockefeller Partners Architects presents this fascinating case study of converting the historic Ford Motor Company Factory in Los Angeles into an award-winning creative office space for Warner Music Group. Rocky deftly describes how to preserve a building’s historic fabric while navigating the requirements of the State Historical Building Code and California’s stringent accessibility requirements.
UC Berkeley: Equitable Campus Planning, Universal Design
(90 minutes, 1.5 AIA/HSW Units)
Learn about accessibility and Universal Design solutions at the University of California, Berkeley campus. UC Berkeley’s Campus Architect and its Manager of Physical Access Compliance and principals from Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects and Sasaki Associates discuss how the campus developed and implemented a human-centered approach to provide equitable physical access to buildings and amenities throughout a hilly site.
Architecture Week ’25 at Girls Academic Leadership Academy
The American Institute of Architects is committed to inspiring K-12 students who will meet the future needs of an ever-evolving profession. Starting early is the key, and Architecture Week is ideal timing to highlight the benefits of pursuing Architecture as a viable career path.
Architecture Week serves to:
- Inspire youth to learn about the power of design.
- Nourish curiosity to engage in solving grand challenges with design.
- Connect students with architects and design professionals.
AIA Long Beach / South Bay was awarded a grant from the AIA to provide Architecturally focused education to the Architectural Design pathway at Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA), the only all-girls public STEM school in the state of California and part of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).
We would like to thank our speakers, Jenny Delgado, AIA, Principal & Education Practice Leader, Cannon Design, Hiba Brewster, Senior Designer, Studio One Eleven, Surabhi Khanderia, AIA, Senior Design Manager with Leading Edge Consulting Services, Heidi Creighton, FAIA, LEED Fellow, Senior Design Manager, City of Santa Monica Architectural Services Division, Carlos Hernandez, AIA, Sr. Associate/ Director of Technical Management at RDC-S111, and AIA LBSB Executive Director, Kristine Hammond. Collectively, we connected with approximately 100 students across four classrooms over three days.
California Architectural Practice Experience (capX)
Introducing capX: Building the Future of Architecture, One Experience at a Time
Enrollment is now open for the California Architectural Practice Experience (capX) Program—a new statewide initiative by the California Architectural Foundation (CAF).
capX connects architecture firms and other architectural practice settings with aspiring architects for paid internships and job shadowing, helping to shape the next generation while strengthening the profession. In its first year, capX is centering on supporting Community College students but it is open to all, including graduates and those on the experience-only path.
✔ Host an intern or job shadow participant—tailored to your firm’s needs
✔ Inspire the next generation—help students take their first steps in the profession
✔ Strengthen the pipeline—support a more diverse, prepared, and connected architectural workforce
✔ Participate even if you have an existing internship program—your current interns can help lead and host a job shadow candidate
The deadline to enroll is March 7th.
Join today and be part of the movement to make architecture more accessible across California–one experience at a time!
Learn more: https://calarchfoundation.org/capx_2025/