Part Two — Gender Inequality & Unconscious Bias

As part of ongoing discussions initiated in 2019 in our practice about equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in the architecture profession, we have held practice-wide conversations guided by the AIA’s Guides for Equitable Practice. With a desire to hear more diverse perspectives within each studio, we’ve interviewed several female staff about their careers, education, and personal experiences in the field. This conversation is part two of a series, shared last March of 2020, with Senior Associate Lee Clark and Jennifer Lema, a designer from our Wilkes-Barre studio.

This second interview highlights experiences in the workplace shaped by gender roles, gender…

Patricia Culley, AIA, LEED AP, an associate principal in our Pittsburgh studio, has been recognized with a 2021 AIA Young Architect Award, honoring individuals who have shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession in an early stage of their architectural careers.

In her leadership role at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, Patricia’s responsibilities include driving engagement, cultivating innovation, instilling trust, mentoring staff, and ensuring accountability. …

Following a successful pilot program, Tusen Takk has selected eleven artists from across the country for solo residencies from March 2021 to June 2022. Tusen Takk residencies provide accomplished artists with the space “to explore new ideas or expand current work that affirms and enriches the human spirit, giving form to chaos and perception to beauty.” Our practice collaborated with the Tusen Takk Foundation to create a studio and guesthouse that would embrace the natural beauty of Northwest Michigan’s Leelaneau Peninsula and provide an inspiring space to work and reflect. Watch a video of the studio and guesthouse environments below.

TCS Hall provides a new campus gateway from the Forbes Avenue thoroughfare

Since collaborating with Carnegie Mellon University in the 1980s on one of the earliest academic buildings dedicated to computer science, we have worked with colleges and universities across the country to create environments that address the needs of this ever-evolving discipline. Increasingly, we’re also exploring how design can support the interplay between academic research and study and pioneering technology companies, as universities seek to prepare students for diverse professional paths and companies look to forge connections to academic inquiry and innovation.

At Carnegie Mellon University, two recent buildings…

Fallingwater recently held a global mini-symposium to explore sustainability through the lens of organic architecture. Using Frank Lloyd Wright’s philosophy of and approach to “organic” in his work as a starting point for the discussion, the symposium brought together speakers from Stuttgart to Ohio to offer their perspectives, including Bill James, an architect in our Pittsburgh studio. The symposium included a keynote address from Stefan Behnisch, Founder of Behnisch Architekten in Stuttgart.

Symposium co-organizers Justin Gunther, Vice President of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy and Director of Fallingwater, and John Reynolds, a professor of architecture at Miami University of Ohio, introduced…

Learning Commons are a microcosm of the higher education experience, used in a diversity of ways by all members of the campus community. Our practice has been exploring changes to this layered ecosystem through our work with Ramapo College of New Jersey, where we’re re-envisioning the existing George T. Potter library, recently renamed as the Peter P. Mercer Learning Commons. In addition to significant changes to collections access and technology resources, the design integrates new areas for interaction and collaboration.

As the project moves toward completion in the summer of 2021, this series will explore the evolution of the learning…

The pop-up shops that welcomed visitors to Wilkes-Barre’s Public Square this holiday season provided local retailers and craftspeople with a way to safely connect with customers. The rhythm of distinctive, sawtooth-shaped shops brought a festive, open-air market experience to downtown, a warm glow in the winter twilight.

Through its pop-up shop program in recent years, the Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce has offered vacant storefronts downtown at a discount to small retailers and craftspeople without a brick-and-mortar presence. …

The pandemic has forced us all to reconsider how we remain engaged with our communities. For many organizations, this has meant re-envisioning existing places of gathering to provide support and developing new ways of responding to changing needs. Our final Year of Gathering event brought together leaders from North Philly Peace Park, Pocono Environmental Education Center (PEEC), and the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh for a conversation on how each has remained resilient and strengthened community connections this year.

Places of Gathering

Patricia Culley, an associate principal at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, began by asking each speaker to introduce their gathering place. Kirsten Christopherson-Clark…