The AIA national convention, May 8–10 in San Diego, offers three keynote presentations from industry leaders and innovators centered on this year’s theme, “Design Matters! Poetry + Proof.”

Thursday, May 8, the opening day of the convention, Tod Williams, FAIA, and Billie Tsien, AIA, will address how their eponymous firm translates their passion and inspiration—their poetry—into provable realization of clients’ aspirations. Internationally known for a diverse range of projects, Tod Williams Billie Tsien Associates is equally known for their high standards, emphasis on the importance of place, and exploration of the nature of materials, all evidenced, for instance, in their design of the Neurosciences Institute in nearby La Jolla. Both architects maintain active teaching careers, serve on various committees and boards for architecture and the arts, and have received numerous national and international awards.

Friday, May 9, Fred Gage, PhD, professor of genetics at The Salk Institute, and Thomas Kelley, general manager of IDEO, will discuss their work as it relates to the “proof” aspects of “Design Matters.” Gage, an internationally recognized geneticist and expert on nervous system regeneration, serves as president of the Society for Neuroscience and as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Center for ALS Research at Johns Hopkins. He was appointed professor in the department of neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego, in 1985 and named professor of genetics at the Salk Institute in 1995. Expanding on his own research, Gage will address the intuitive appreciation of design (the poetry) and verifiable data (the proof) that demonstrates the difference that architects’ work makes for clients and communities.

Kelley serves as general manager of IDEO, the successful and pioneering industrial design and development firm that brought the world the Apple mouse, Polaroid’s I-Zone camera, and hundreds of other cutting-edge products and services. Kelley worked as a management consultant for Towers Perrin before joining IDEO as general manager in 1987. Since then, he has helped the company grow to $60 million in annual revenue with offices around the globe. Kelley believes that great innovations don’t happen in isolation and that creativity is a team effort drawing on the experience of team members’ diverse backgrounds.

Saturday, May 10, Robert Ivy, FAIA, Architectural Record’s editor in chief, will moderate a panel discussion with some of the best minds in architecture education and practice today. Through what promises to be a lively debate, they will contribute their experiences, outlooks, and ideas about the design industry’s future and how Design Matters. Ivy took the reins at Architectural Record in October 1996. Under his leadership, the magazine has emerged as the most widely read professional architecture journal worldwide. A frequent spokesperson for the profession, he is a fellow of the Philippine Institute of Architects and the Institute for Urban Design, a former regent of the American Architectural Foundation, member of the AIA Board, peer reviewer for the U.S. General Services Administration, and author of the award-winning book, Fay Jones, reissued in 2001.

Register today
The convention also offers myriad professional workshops, seminars, and tours, led by some of the industry’s most accomplished architects, to further explore how “Design Matters!” You save $80 by registering before April 11 and increase your chances of getting the workshops, tours, special events, programs, and travel and hotel accommodations that you want. For the most up-to-date convention information and to register online, visit www.aiaconvention.com.

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