On Wednesday, June 16, OAA President Susan Speigel hosted the Association’s online Annual General Meeting (AGM) of members. (To watch the video or read more of the highlights, click here.) The speaking notes for the President’s Address, which closed the AGM, are below.
Welcome, everyone!
This address is in appreciation of all the hard work of the OAA staff, Council members, and to, OAA members for great work in a demanding time.
As we survey the last 15 months, we are seeing lessons learned and positive shifts that allow us to reckon our time in the global pandemic.
Insights and lessons are being explored across all media, and while I imagine there are countless ways we are each personally affected by the COVID, I want to reflect on what we in the architecture profession, can turn our attention to.
At the beginning of this year, OAA Council renewed its commitment to viewing our work through a vigilant lens of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as spearheaded by our wonderful, now Past-President, Katie Kurtin.
We drilled down and iterated in three key areas: the People, the Profession, and the Planet.
The People
The last several months has laid bare deep-rooted disparities.
We continue to confront inequities and unconscious biases as individuals, in our communities, in our professions, and in our built environment that have been largely invisible to too many for too long.
Just over a year ago today, a powerful global movement began loudly calling out anti-Black racism. COVID devastated our elders and care-workers in retirement communities and essential workplaces. Precariously housed people have been relegated to makeshift encampments in city parks.
And right now I join Indigenous people across Canada, who grieve for the children murdered and buried without dignity at the Kamloops Indian Residential School, and other sites across the country.
As much as I am frightened by the intentionality of these crimes, I stand in awe of the intergenerational survivors who promote hope and love as they lead our country toward justice and Reconciliation.
There is much work to be done, and Architects and Licensed Technologists OAA have a key role to play in designing for health and well-being, accessibility, and inclusivity. The OAA remains committed to continuing this important work in all our actions and initiatives.
I’m very glad to say that this commitment has translated into concrete actionable steps forward.
This year, the OAA introduced mandatory ConEd requirements to ensure ongoing learning around inclusivity in the profession.
The OAA’s Reconciliation Working Group continues to address how the practice of architecture and space and land development can be decolonized. We have just concluded a demographic survey of the profession to help determine a baseline to measure proactive change as we continue to learn and unlearn.
Our first Virtual Conference, 2021, was hosted under the theme of “Cultivate Inclusivity.” By all reports, it was a tremendous success. It was kicked off with a Keynote presentation by Ojibwe broadcaster, advocate, and pop culture philosopher Jesse Wente—whose brilliant and engaging talk was noted by some to be “life-changing.”
The full conference was made available for a highly reduced price to ensure more interns, members, and the public could participate. It featured topics of inclusive design, sustainability practices, architecture and Indigeneity, accessibility, and more. The energy around the event was fantastic, and I hope it will move members to think and act with renewed perspective in their own practices.
I want to underscore that this work is not done to pay lip service or earn favour with particular communities. It is driven by the ongoing convictions of the members of Council who know that our profession is better when it reflects the diversity of people in Canada and the Province of Ontario, and who understand that, in order to uphold our mandate to protect the public interest, this work must get done.
I will echo the inspiring words spoken by our Past President, Kathleen Kurtin, at the 2020 AGM.
As a Regulator, our role is to advocate for the public interest rather than for members. This is something often misunderstood by the profession. Those who sit on Council, including myself as President, are there to represent the interests of the general public, rather than our peers and colleagues.
Of course, issues that are in the public interest are often also beneficial to the profession. After all, having a strong network of highly trained, well-informed architectural professionals, supported with the right tools and resources, leads to the OAA’s vision of a safe and healthy built environment that performs at the highest levels and elevates the human spirit.
The Profession
There are a number of actions the OAA is taking to support the profession. Member engagement and comprehensive education continue to be key focal point for council directives, which have taken shape in several ways.
COVID has accelerated embracing the advantages of online tools and integrating them fully into our processes.
OAA staff and Council have been working remotely without skipping a beat. We have expanded our highly successful ConEd webinar series, including a selection of sessions about diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are free and count toward Structured Learning hours.
Plus, OAA Council approved the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) Standing Committee’s recommendation to proceed with an online Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) interview process, as a permanent option under that program. No more Uber/taxi-driving architects?
And, as I mentioned earlier, the OAA’s Annual Conference was successfully hosted virtually this year, and of course, so is this year’s AGM. And so many more people attend because it is accessible.
We expect these new approaches to endure.
In celebration of the unique strengths of our profession, our Design Challenge this year, SHIFT2021, is a Resiliency/Architecture Challenge. This aspirational and inspirational program highlights how architectural thinking can respond to key social issues. This year, the diverse jury of experts selected five projects that thoughtfully responded to the issue of resiliency.
The five selections were celebrated with a special preview event at conference, which can be viewed now on the OAA’s YouTube Channel. Further events expanding on the projects are forthcoming.
The Practice Advisory Services team has been working on revising and updating OAA contracts. Yay! And after a year of negotiations, I’m also happy to report that the OAA has secured free viewing access for licensed members to the CSA standards referenced in the National Building Code and the Ontario Building Code. In upholding our mission to serve the public interest, the OAA is providing access to this important information so that costs are not a barrier to being well informed.
This one-year subscription began on June 1. Interested Architects and Licensed Technologists OAA should register as soon as possible to fully benefit from the program—more details can be found on the OAA Website under “Resources” and in the OAA News feeds.
The Planet
While we grapple actively with the COVID aftermath, we remain vigilant in our efforts to respond to the climate crisis. The OAA believes that resilient, climate-stable architecture can no longer be an aspiration or a specialty—it must be the standard expectation for all our buildings.
We’ve introduced mandatory Energy Use Intensity (EUI) criteria into our Design Excellence awards requirements. To facilitate finding that information, the OAA has launched a new online tool to allow its members and the public to measure the Total Energy Use Intensity (TEUI) of a building—it’s fantastic!
Initiated in 2020 by the OAA's Sustainable Built Environments Committee (SBEC), the free TEUI.ca calculator lets you determine a home or building’s energy performance by entering simple data into an easy-to-use interface. Users receive instant metrics for their building’s energy performance, and get a PDF printout to show clients or other stakeholders.
The OAA also joined Workforce 2030, a coalition of industry groups to help fast-track the skills and occupations needed to build a low-carbon Ontario.
As part of Conference, we hosted a plenary panel discussion on investing in Carbon-Free Design. It shone a spotlight on the critical need for low- and zero-carbon buildings to address the climate change crisis. The speakers made a compelling case to embrace Net-Zero Carbon building design as a sound investment strategy—both from an environmental and economic perspective.
And soon, we will gather at the renewed OAA Headquarters, which embodies the possibilities in sustainable design. 2030 goals achieved 10 years early.
Our unique skills and knowledge are required to create a safe and resilient built environment that responds to the needs of the new ‘normal.’ As we come together to create our future, we must meet the climate crisis with thoughtful solutions for new and existing buildings alike.
Operations
Operations are the final Phase of our total revitalization program. We started with the Building, our new branding strategy and new website, and we have turned our focus to OAA operations.
With the support of the Governance Committee and Council, a review of the OAA’s operations was recently conducted with the overarching goal to review and ensure the Association is organized, resourced, and administered in an optimal manner in order to support the legislative mandate of the OAA along with the Vision, Mission, and strategic objectives of the OAA and Council.
Consulting firm G. Vergilio & Associates oversaw the review and presented their draft findings to the Project Team on May 11. The final report with comprehensive recommendations will be submitted at the end of June.
Next Steps/Vision
As we find ourselves on the cusp of a more “normal” summer, let’s use this hopeful energy to energize and invigorate our approach to our work. Moving forward…
Many people working from home got to know their neighbours, but mostly people got to know themselves connecting with a deeper sense contributing to the planet not just taking from it.
To share wisdom from Jesse Wente’s videos:
Diversity and inclusion is the way of nature. Reforestation—the same trees planted in a grid—was not designed by nature. Design like a forest. Plant so people you will never know will enjoy the shade.
Thank you.