AIANY 2023 Presidential Theme - Our City, Ourselves

Manhattan, NY AIA New York welcomed its 2023 board of directors at the Board Inaugural. Executive director Benjamin Prosky, assoc. AIA, and immediate past president Andrea Lamberti, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, NCARB, began the evening by celebrating this year’s achievements. Following the passing of the gavel, incoming 2023 president Matthew Bremer, AIA, NCARB, discussed his presidential theme, Our City, Ourselves.

2023 PRESIDENTIAL THEME – OUR CITY, OURSELVES

Bremer’s 2023 presidential theme is a love letter to New York City and a call to action to create a just and equitable city for all. In his inaugural speech, Bremer encouraged chapter members to take this moment in time as an opportunity to reflect on their values and their relationship to New York City. “The fact that the world in general, and New York in particular, will never go back to its February 2020 self is liberating and filled with opportunity,” said Bremer. “How do we work together to rebuild and grow our city while honoring the qualities that have attracted so many here—its energy, its diversity, its intensity, its grit, its fearlessness, its culture, and its queerness?”

Inspired by the 1970 feminist treatise, Our Bodies, Ourselves, the theme is intentionally political. Bremer invited the audience to be explicit about what they are trying to achieve, noting that the New York Chapter should be setting an example for the rest of the country. He followed this call by reminding members of the importance of deploying our values through action—through making—using his practice’s commitment to building beautiful supportive housing for those most in need as an example.  

Throughout 2023, Bremer hopes to lead a range of initiatives and programming that will spark the imagination and fortify the chapter’s will to fight for change in New York City and beyond. Bremer will engage with all 26 of AIANY’s program committees to determine how each can adapt the year’s theme to their own core values and missions and how that can be deployed anew into achievable goals while also focusing special attention on ensuring that newer, smaller firms feel welcome and heard. He will guide the chapter’s advocacy efforts to address the most pressing issues facing our city, placing architects at the center of policymaking. In light of recent debates in the field, Bremer also hopes to leverage the Center for Architecture’s power to convene to facilitate important dialogues about issues of workplace equity and labor relations. Finally, as AIA New York’s first openly gay president, Bremer is excited to form a new LGBTQIA+ group to address local and national issues that affect the community.

CHAPTER RECOGNITION

The inaugural also served as an opportunity to recognize members and projects of the architecture and design community for their contributions. AIANY’s Vice Presidents recognized the Chapter’s program committees with Vice Presidential Citations for contributions in each of the organization’s mission areas: design excellence, public outreach, and professional development. 

AIANY Vice Presidential Citations

AIANY Citation for Design Excellence: “IndiaNOW: Architecture in the Contemporary Landscape” conference, organized by the AIANY Architecture Dialogue Committee, the AIANY Global Dialogues Committee, and cultureNOW
AIANY Citation for Public Outreach: “The Infrastructure Bill” program series, organized by the AIANY Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
AIANY Citation for Professional Development: “Stories from Arquitina: Elevating Latinas in Architecture” panel discussion, organized by the AIANY Diversity and Inclusion Committee

THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS NEW YORK 2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• President Matthew Bremer, AIA Architecture in Formation    
• Director Peter Miller, AIA Palette Architecture
• First Vice President / President-Elect Gregory Switzer, AIA, NOMA, NCARB Gregory Switzer Architecture    
• Director AJ Pires, AIA, LEED AP, Alloy
• Vice President for Design Excellence Hana Kassem, AIA, LEED AP, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates    
• Director Amanda Ramos, Assoc. AIA, NOMA, WIN, Gensler
• Vice President for Professional Development Benjamin Gilmartin, AIA, Diller Scofidio + Renfro  
• Director Gustavo Rodriguez, AIA, FXCollaborative
• Vice President for Public Outreach Rocco Giannetti, FAIA, LEED AP ID+C, NCARB, Gensler    
• Public Director Jha Amazi, MASS Design Group
• Secretary Mark Gardner, AIA, NOMA, Jaklitsch / Gardner Architects    
• Public Director Fiona Cousins, PE, FCIBSE, LEED Fellow, Arup
• Treasurer Alexander Lamis, FAIA, Alex Lamis Architect    
• Public Director Hayle Eber, AIA, Cooper Union
• Director Bruce Eisenberg, FAIA, New York City Housing Authority    
• Public Director Ifeoma Ebo, Creative Urban Alchemy
• Director Ilana Judah, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CPHC, Arup    
• Public Director, Oculus Advisor Lisa Green, Selldorf Architects
• Director Vivian Lee, FAIA, Woods Bagot    
• Student Director Saba Ardeshiri, Columbia University
• Director David Leven, FAIA, LEVENBETTS    
• Immediate Past President Andrea Lamberti, AIA, NCARB, Rafael Viñoly Architects
• Director Michaela Metcalfe, AIA, NYC Department of Design and Construction    
• Executive Director Benjamin Prosky, Assoc. AIA