RECORD is also proud to recognize the recipients of the 12th-annual Women in Architecture Design Leadership Awards, who will be honored at a ceremony and reception on the evening of September 9. (Stay tuned as the latest cohort of Women in Architecture awardees will be announced next month.) Like the Sustainability in Practice conference the following day, the event will also occur on the IIT campus at Crown Hall, marking the first time that the Women in Architecture Awards has been held in Chicago. Registration for both Sustainability in Practice and the Women in Architecture Awards are now open, and can be accessed here and here.

Among the featured speakers of the forthcoming Sustainability in Practice conference is Chicago’s very own Jeanne Gang, who was honored in 2014 as a New Generation Leader as part of the inaugural Women in Architecture Awards. Gang will delve into a variety of sustainable projects completed by her firm, Studio Gang, including the Populus hotel in downtown Denver. Presenting earlier that afternoon is Thomas Robinson, founding principal of Portland, Oregon-based Lever Architecture, who will discuss regenerative timber architecture. Also presenting are Kevin Carmody and Andy Groarke, directors of London-based Carmody Groarke, who will discuss, among other things, their materials research for a new museum in Ghent, Belgium, that uses lime-cured bricks made from city waste to form the facade.   IIT professor Dillon Pranger will also take the stage to present small-scale project types that respond to their local context by considering material, labor, and energy lifecycles as an integral part of the design process. The day’s featured presentations will conclude with a panel discussion and Q&A with Gang, Robinson, Carmody, and Groarke. In addition to these key presentations, the conference will also include morning and afternoon CE sessions, networking breaks, and an evening reception. 

Attendees of Sustainability in Practice—which like past editions of the conference is complimentary to architects, allied professionals, and students—can earn continuing education credits, including AIA LU/HSW.

Those interested in attending Sustainability in Practice should also consider the prior evening’s Women in Architecture Awards in which the program’s 2025 honorees will be celebrated for demonstrating exceptional design leadership. The evening will include a cocktail hour, awards presentation, and networking reception. In addition to Gang, past Chicago-based recipients include Carol Ross Barney (2022), Amanda Williams (2021), Kimberly Dowdell (2020), Roberta Feldman (2016), and IIT’s own Donna Robertson (2016). 

We hope to see you in Chicago in September at Sustainability in Practice and the Women in Architecture Awards!