AIA Convention '08

You may recall that last year I went to the AIA Convention in San Antonio - it was so close, stayed with a friend, and I received free entry since it was my first year as an AIA member. I had a great time and was super energized coming back to work. Well, this year I also ventured out - location was great (Boston in May - perfect weather!), stayed with friends (including their pets Lucy (dog) and Puma (cat)), and received free entry and flight costs because I was granted a young professionals scholarship. I have to say, that while the location was indeed wonderful, and it was great to catch up with friends in Boston, I was not that impressed with the convention. Many of the seminars were repeats from last year, and the 3 keynotes didn't quite measure up to the 3 keynotes last year. Ah well. Anyways, here's a picture of a Corbu building on Harvard campus - I volunteered to 'herd' attendees on a walking tour of Harvard. The tour was actually my highpoint - the woman who gave the tour was excellent - she works out of Somerville, spent a year at the GSD, and then transferred to MIT (this was in the 70s I believe). Very knowledgeable, great at answering questions, and really responded to the group's interests. I have to say, though, that herding a bunch of architects on a tour is tough work - they're either lagging behind because they're taking too many photos or because they are hooked to their 'crackberries.' Figures.