LPA Looks to the Future at AIA26

The annual AIA Conference on Design & Architecture is a time when the AEC industry’s leading minds converge, a catalyst for reflection and ideation spanning four days of keynote speakers, networking, studio tours and immersive learning sessions. This year’s conference, held at the San Diego Convention Center from June 10 – 13, will recognize the people, experiences and outstanding projects defining the future of design — and LPA will once again have a defined presence at the event.

During AIA25 last June, LPA was presented with the AIA Firm Award — the industry’s highest honor — for exemplary efforts in sustainable, high-performance design and a culture of shared responsibility and integration. AIA26 offers an opportunity to revisit the milestone while embracing what lies ahead through three featured sessions and a tour of LPA’s San Diego studio.

“We are excited that our talented team members will once again showcase our unique approach to design,” shared LPA CEO and Chief Talent Officer Wendy Rogers. “One of our guiding principles is, ‘We don’t do this alone,’ a belief that underpins how we work with clients, how our teams collaborate and ultimately how we deliver impactful projects.”

LPA President and Chief Design Officer Keith Hempel, Director of Sustainability + Applied Research Ellen Mitchell, Senior Design Researcher Rachel Nasland and Director of K-12 Kate Mraw will be speaking at AIA26 about one such process that sets the firm apart: goal-setting. “Gamifying Project Goal Setting: It’s All in the Cards” will be held from 2:30 – 4 p.m. June 11. This interactive workshop features the Goal-Setting Card Deck, an LPA-designed facilitation tool to help project teams and clients collaboratively identify, document and achieve goals. Grounded in goal-setting theory and the AIA Framework for Design Excellence, the cards create a common language that builds successful project foundations.

“The card deck embodies the firm’s multidisciplinary approach,” Hempel said. “Time and again, we have seen that it leads to better outcomes for clients and project teams alike.”

From 11:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. June 12, Senior Project Manager Peter Damore will lead two consecutive hour-long tours of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Tours will run from 12:20 – 1:20 p.m. and 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Guests will also be able to tour the adjacent Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center.

From 2:30 – 4 p.m. June 12, Design Director Matthew Porreca will be speaking at “2 + 2: Achieving Design Excellence,” a session on the design philosophies behind notable projects that positively address climate change and elevate the human experience. Porreca will cover lessons learned from the El Cerrito Supportive Housing project, an affordable multifamily mixed-use housing development; the Family Health Centers of San Diego Integrated Medicine & Wellness Center, an 80,000-square-foot net-zero energy clinic; the Tracy Multi-Generational Recreational Center; and the UCSD RIMAC Expansion, a net-zero energy recreational facility in La Jolla, Calif.

From 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. June 12, Ellen Mitchell will host a session recognizing the recipients of the industry's best-known awards program for projects that exemplify compelling, sustainable design. And finally, from 12:30 – 4 p.m. June 10, Studio Director Eric Jones will lead a tour of LPA’s San Diego hub. Located within a transformed two-story barracks building at Liberty Station (formerly home to the Naval Training Center), the 10,000-square-foot LEED Gold studio features an open, light-filled mix of collaboration, flexible work and meeting spaces.

“We’re proud to share the San Diego studio with our AIA colleagues,” said Jones. “The annual conference is always a pivotal moment for education, growth and community.