AIAWHV Annual Meeting - Two Timber Tales
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Time: 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Venue: Four Brothers Restaurant, 654 US-6, Mahopac, NY 10541
Cost: $25 AIA | $15 Associate AIA | $35 Non member
CEU: 2 AIA PDH HSW
You're Invited: 2025 Annual Meeting
Please join us for this year’s Annual Meeting! The evening will include Board of Directors voting and an engaging lecture program, offering both insight and inspiration.
EVENT DESCRIPTION: Two Timber Tales
Mass timber construction offers a myriad of benefits, including lower embodied carbon, constructional efficiencies, and lighter assemblies as compared to traditional steel and concrete construction. In addition, mass timber provides visual character and warmth to building interiors, promoting occupant welfare and potentially reducing the number of interior finishes required. How can architects advocate for its use and successfully integrate mass timber into projects? In a presentation led by Principal Kim Yao, FAIA, learn how Architecture Research Office utilized mass timber in two completed projects – Milgard Hall at the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus, and The Frederic Church Center for Art and Landscape at the Olana State Historic Site in Hudson, New York. Each attendee will gain an understanding of varied ways that mass timber can be integrated into their work.
Learning Objectives:
• Incorporate mass timber into varied assemblies within a building.
• Advocate for the use of mass timber based on its embodied carbon benefits.
• Articulate financial advantages for mass timber compared to traditional structural systems.
• Assess different public procurement methods for mass timber projects, including design-build and design-bid-build.
Architecture Research Office (ARO) is the New York City firm led by Stephen Cassell, Kim Yao, and Adam Yarinsky. Since 1993, ARO has earned a reputation for beautiful and innovative architecture, designed with integrity and born out of relentless inquiry and engagement.
ARO is a diverse collective united by their collaborative process, commitment to accountable action, and social and environmental responsibility. Research gives their work purpose and intention. Their architecture unites beauty and form with strategy and intelligence. Their office designs buildings and spaces that inspire people, further institutional missions, and advance equity and resilience. Their diverse project portfolio - spanning strategic planning, architecture and urban design - reveals the hidden potential within complex architectural and urban constraints. From a low-cost, passive house housing prototype to a proposal to reinvent public space, ecology, and infrastructure in New York City, ARO’s work is simultaneously engaging, intelligent and purposeful.
Architecture Research Office received the 2020 AIA Architecture Firm Award, the AIA New York State Firm of the Year Award, the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture, and the Academy Award for Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. They have been recognized globally for their vision, artistry, and dedication to craft. The firm’s work has been exhibited widely and is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Architecture Research. Office. was published in October 2024 and presents ARO’s diverse body of work, its ethos, and the people behind its projects.
Kim Yao, FAIA | Photo credit Dean Kaufman
Kim Yao, FAIA, is Principal of Architecture Research Office (ARO). She has taught at MIT; Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; the School of Constructed Environments, Parsons the New School for Design; and Barnard College. She has lectured throughout the United States and abroad. Kim has been awarded the AIA New York (AIANY) Medal of Honor and the Beverly Willis Foundation Mentorship Award. She was President of AIANY in 2020 and serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Center for Architecture. She holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from Columbia College: Columbia University and a Master of Architecture from Princeton University.
AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley 2026 Proposed Slate
President Elect – Christina Kissel, AIA
Treasurer – Manny Andrade, AIA
Secretary – Erica Gaswirth, AIA
Directors (3 year term)
Brooklyn Bogdan, AIA
Robert S Everett, AIA
Tomasz Mlynarski, AIA
Cornelia J. Szustka, AIA
Associate Director (3 year term)
Ana Pereira, Assoc AIA
We would like to thank those board members completing their term of service
Steve Tilly, AIA (immediate past president)
Alison Spear, AIA
Nischal Arjune, AIA
Walter Hauser, AIA
Adina Banayan, Associate AIA
Seth Wiley, AIA AIANYS Director
We would like to thank those board members continuing their term of service
President – Richard Gonzalez, AIA
Immediate Past President –, Alexandra Kovenat AIA
Director
Nick Binder, AIA
Victoria Cuddy, AIA
Erica Gaswirth, AIA
Celia Imrey, AIA
Richard Markgraf, AIA
Dipti Shah, AIA
Chris Marta, Associate AIA (Associate Director)
We look forward to your participation in this important gathering of our professional community.
