November is the month of the Minnesota American Institute of Architects annual convention and this year was no exception. I attended some very interesting seminars and learned about some exciting new products, too.

Two themes were very strongly present in all of the seminars: Sustainability and Leadership.

The AIA has embraced sustainable design with both arms, requiring AIA members to acquire continuing education hours in this regard. FYI: 2030 Challenge and 2030 Toolkit.

Leadership has been a sub-plot of the architectural community for a long time, but this year it was underscored for me, both by James P. Cramer, the founder of DesignIntelligence and by a local architect with whom I had lunch. As we chatted about our work, and he offered (unprompted) that the leadership of his major client has made all the difference in their success as a national restaurant chain.

These were heartening ideas for me, given my involvement in the Boy Scouts of America and my interest in designing low-impact buildings.