CAREER TOOLS
RESOURCES FOR FIRMS

AIA|LA Staff and Board of Directors are honored to advocate on behalf of members, and to support them through a full spectrum of resources that:

+ Empower individual architects
+ Strengthen firms
+ Advocate for the profession
+ Support our communities and region through design.

Here, you’ll find online resources meant to enrich and inform the practice of firms- small, medium, and large.


WHERE TO START?
SMALL FIRMS 101
Ready, Set, Go: Taking the big leap toward starting a new practice
In this presentation by Christopher Warren, AIA – Founding Principal, WORD, Chris takes us through an overview of practice, forming your vision and finding your position, and key decisions to ensure success for your firm.
SMALL FIRMS 101
Correlation of Enterprise Risk Management on Performance
Tim Corbett – Founder & President, SmartRisk, shares his expertise on Defining Risk Management, Claim Trends & Causes, Impacts on Performance, Claim Data, Enterprise, Risk Management Categories, SR Risk Profile, CharacterisLcs of Higher Performers, and Premium, Claims & Profitability.
SMALL FIRMS 101
Creating Your Brand
Branding is pivotal to the success of your office. We asked firm principal and AIA|LA member, Dan Brunn, FAIA, to share tips about how he was able to establish a very successful branding for his Los Angeles-based firm, Dan Brunn Architecture, founded in 2005.

THE AIA TRUST
AIA Trust—Where Smart Architects Manage Risk
The AIA Trust is a free risk management resource, offering benefit programs and practice resources for AIA Members.

BEST PRACTICES
EDI GUIDE
Part-Roadmap, Part-Toolkit, The Guide is Composed of:
+ Institutional goals.
+ Chapter commitments that further diversity.
+ Hiring Practices and Steps that facilitate EDI.
+ Insight into and Mitigation Measures for Unintentional Bias.
HR LAWS
Human Resources Management – Employee vs. CA Independent Contractor
Maggie Hattan – Human Resources Consultant, HR Prescriptions
SMALL FIRMS DOING BIG THINGS
Small Firms Practicing Creatively in the 21st Century
How do contracts, roles, responsibilities, and legal issues change for design-build, design-developer, and design-entitlement partnerships?

PREPARED TO DESIGN FOR ZERO NET ENERGY (ZNE)?
ZNE 101
Panel Dedicated to Helping Firms Design and Achieve ZNE
+ John Zinner, LEED Fellow – Principal & Founder, Zinner Consultants
+ Lisa Matthissen, FAIA – National Sustainability Design Director, HGA & Chair, AIA|California Committee On The Environment (COTE)
+ Dan Brunn, AIA – Founding Principal, Dan Brunn Architecture
+ Moe Fakih, LEED AP (O+M, RATER, QAD), CCP, GBP, BPI, AT TECH, WELL AP – Vice President, VCA Green
+ Ric. Abramson, FAIA – Founder & Firm Principal, WORKPLAYS studio*architecture
ZNE 101
Rocky Mountain Institute ZNE Homes Study
This report demonstrates that the cost increase to build a ZE or ZER home is modest and highlights methods builders and policymakers can use to drive increased
market penetration.
ZNE 101
Drawdown: #1 Best-Selling Environmental Book of 2017
Project Drawdown gathers and facilitates a broad coalition of researchers, policy makers, business leaders and activists to present the best available information on climate solutions in order to describe their beneficial financial, social and environmental impact over the next 30 years.
ZNE 101
Time Dependent Valuation of Energy for Developing Building Efficiency Standards
This report describes data sources, calculations and results used in the 2019 Time Dependent Valuation (TDV) update for the Title 24 building standards
ZNE 101
The WeatherShift™ Tool
Using data from global climate change modeling, produce EPW weather files adjusted for changing climate conditions, best suited for simulating building energy requirements.
ZNE 101
ZNE Primer from AIA|CC
Tools, links, definitions, checklists, further explanation on how ZNE affects how the architect designs.

TITLE 24 RESOURCES
GET INVOLVED!
AIA Los Angeles
Join a Committee
With 13 active committees and task forces, positions to participate as leadership and steer events and programming for the chapter are abundant. You must be AIA or Assoc. AIA to become a Committee Chair, but participation is open to all.
AIA Los Angeles
Become a Board Member
Each year positions on our Board of Directors open up to both AIA Member architects and the public. Get to know key dates and requirements from AIA|LA Membership Director.
AIA Los Angeles
Mentor The Next Generation
We receive requests from schools, libraries and mentoring programs for architects and designers to speak to students of all ages, about the profession and the built environment. Share your influence with your community.