September 2020

2019 Hard Hat Party

Would you like to see your interior design featured above? Send your project in for review to info@idalberta.ca

President's Message

Even though it was a summer like no other, welcome back!

There is a growing body of research that suggests that for many of us, autumn functions more like a true “new year” than the actual start of the calendar in January. As Brene Brown stated in a recent podcast, “As much as we’d like to think that January is the restart for us, it is not. … [R]eally for most of us, the Tuesday after Labour Day is launch, go time.” Or, as stated in the Wall Street Journal: “September marks a time of change in how we live, what we buy and what goals we set.”

This holds true even in the midst of a global pandemic. Although COVID-19 restrictions and uncertainty continue, I do feel a sense of a fresh start, and sincerely hope that our industry is starting to find our feet. I believe the IDA community can play an important role in supporting and encouraging each other, and ensuring that we can emerge from the lock-down stronger than ever.

For IDA, our key “new year” events have also been impacted by COVID-19:

We have made the difficult decision to postpone Urban Encounters 2020. Our annual trade show, CEU and networking event is our cornerstone function of our year; however, given the evolving restrictions we were unlikely to be able to hold it in person – and we didn’t feel we could effectively recreate the experience in a virtual setting. We are in the process of confirming Calgary and Edmonton dates for Fall 2021, and look forward to coming back together with our community when it is safe to do so.
Another casualty of COVID-19 is our MASI Awards gala, which had been scheduled for October in Calgary. However, thanks to hard-working committee comprised of IDAS, PIDIM and IDA members, the MASI Awards program itself has still been completed – we received more than 70 submissions from across the Prairies! We can’t wait to announce our winners, so we’ll be hosting a virtual celebration – watch for more information on how to attend!
Our partners Buildex Alberta have shifted their annual trade show to an online format which will be hosted the first week of December 2020. In addition to our annual Interior Design Keynote, we have developed a couple of additional seminars to provide learning opportunities for our industry. See information about the event elsewhere in this newsletter, and watch for information to come about discount codes for IDA members to attend.

Amongst the ongoing challenges, there was one very positive development the summer that I wanted to be sure to bring attention to.

The Alberta Association of Architects launched their new Experienced Interior Designer pathway, which allows qualifying senior professionals to prove their experience and competency in pursuit of the right to practice as a Licensed Interior Designer (LID). This is a significant occurrence, following years of advocacy and discussions between the AAA and IDA. We hope that many of our members will be able to take part.

Special thanks to IDA member and LID Donna Assaly for her leadership of the AAA Interior Design Advisory Committee, as well as IDA member Chris Greene for her participation. For full information about the pathway, see full announcement from AAA below, or visit the AAA website for more information.

Happy “new year!” I hope to get the chance to virtually connect with you later in the fall.

Kerri Peyton
IDA President

Kerri Peyton

IDA President

Member Matters

MEDIA RELEASE

New Pathway to Become a Licensed Interior Designer

Experienced interior designers can now join the Alberta Association of Architects

Edmonton, AB 08/05/2020 – The Alberta Association of Architects (AAA) has created the Experienced Interior Designer Pathway (EIDP) to allow interior designers with extensive experience to become Licensed Interior Designers with the AAA.

This alternative to the Intern Interior Designer Program is meant to serve the needs of many of Alberta’s interior designers who meet the current requirements and who can

illustrate their competency, but who have not previously logged their hours with AAA. The EIDP is a temporary pathway expected to close in 2024.

“The development of this pathway represents many months of work by our dedicated committees and Council in arriving at a rigorous and fair method to establish competency. We are so delighted to announce the launch of the EIDP and look forward to welcoming new members to the AAA,” says Council Member and Chair of the Interior Design Advisory Committee Donna Assaly.

Benefits of becoming a Licensed Interior Designer include the right

to practice the regulated scope of interior design in Alberta and the ability to engage in the activities of the association, including the opportunity to sit on AAA Council and help shape the future of the professions.

For more information about the EIDP and the application process, please visit the EIDP Webpage or email registration@aaa.ab.ca.

Media Contact
Derek Schutz
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
The Alberta Association of Architects
dschutz@aaa.ab.ca

Inaugural Student Research Competition

With job reductions and economic uncertainty, students and recent graduates have been hit particularly hard by the global pandemic. IDA launched our first ever Student Research Competition in an effort to help these individuals build their resumes, and earn some funds. Current students were also able to gain additional credit for completing their essays.

Entrants were required to submit research papers based on a topic relating to COVID-19 and its impact on the design industry – now and into the future.

We are very pleased to announce that the 2020 winning entries have been selected. Congratulations to the following winners:

Arie te Stroete, MRU Bachelor of Interior Design (2020) - essay entitled “The Interior Design Workplace in the Post-COVID Era: Why interior designers should be skeptical of the distributed work evolution”
Lisa Jeans, Yorkville University Bachelor of Interior design (2021) – essay entitled “The show must go on: How can interior designers post-COVID-19 help mitigate risk of transmission and safely enable large groups of people to gather in public facilities?”
Margarette Cruz, NAIT Diploma in Interior Design Technology (2020) – essay entitled “Transforming Public Spaces Post COVID-19”

Each winner has received a $500 honorarium, as well as a free one-year student membership to IDA.

Special thanks to Executive Director Jenny Kerr, Industry Representative Dee Leibel and RID Kathy Johnson-Umbach for their time in reviewing the submissions and selecting our winners.

The winning submissions will be published in our October, November and December newsletters.

IDA Member Project Feature

#idalbertainteriors

We would love to showcase the work of our members on our social media platforms. Simply use the hashtag: #idalbertainteriors for a chance to be featured OR email us at info@idalberta.ca. Our next feature will be in August, providing plenty of time to get those projects photographed!

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INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS

BUILDEX Invests and Commits to Alberta’s Building Community

BUILDEX Alberta 2020 becomes part of Buildings Week, brought to you by The Buildings Show and BUILDEX Alberta. Through this collaboration, BUILDEX commits to Alberta’s building community as it delivers a 100% virtual conference and tradeshow marketplace in 2020.

BUILDEX Alberta 2020 will be held virtually November 30 – December 4 and will be accessible anywhere through mobile or desktop.

Alberta’s building industry needs opportunities for generating new business, continuing professional education, and reconnecting during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to continue its advancement.

Visit buildexalberta.com or use #BUILDEXAlberta on social media to find out more.