arcCA’s Importance
This journal gives architects and others related to the profession a voice. Its mission is to promote dialogue among AIACC members, students, anyone interested in design and practice issues. Our contributing authors are encouraged to probe, raise questions, and not shy away from controversy. arcCA addresses the many participants, resources, and dynamic forces affecting our profession right here in California, and it is extending its reach out-of-state and, occasionally, abroad. arcCA provides an independent platform to discuss the myriad issues we architects face, from the art of making buildings and planning cities, the education and mentoring of our interns, the business of practice and construction, to the social and economic effects of everything we do.
There’s more to architecture than the artifact. Beyond our buildings and their individual sites, what we do has greater meaning and impact on society, our culture, and the environment. I think arcCA is one of the best things the AIA supports on behalf of its members—arcCA exposes the issues, encourages the debate, explores the changing influences and context in which we practice, and documents the richness of the challenges and of our accomplishments. What better way is there to promote the profession and educate the public and each other?
arcCA’s Rewards
Architects have a social responsibility for the consequences of what we do, and I believe that arcCA can make a difference, influencing not only our members but also the users of what we design and build—our clients, students, and other players who shape our environment. To pick up on this year’s MDC theme, “Doing good doing good,“ what drives my efforts toward the ongoing quality (and survival) of arcCA are the rewards and satisfaction of “doing good.”
Over the years, serving on the editorial board has also given me the chance to meet and interact with many thoughtful, talented, and inspiring architects, educators, and leaders in the profession. My involvement with arcCA has enriched my ongoing work at ELS, where our practice is similarly multi-layered, involving community interaction, dialogue about limits and change, advocacy, design of public space, and a commitment to continuing education. I feel quite fortunate to be the beneficiary of input and reflection from both my colleagues at ELS and those involved with arcCA.
arcCA’s Future
Since first joining the editorial board in 1994, I have watched Architecture California evolve from a membership-supported journal published by AIACC with two issues per year, into arcCA in its present form, an award-winning quarterly published by McGraw-Hill that now relies less on dues and more on ad revenues. With the continued support of our publisher and the AIACC leadership, the energy and commitment of the best minds and practitioners in California, and in partnership with others in the industry who share our values, I look forward to arcCA’s promising future—a wider reach, a broader audience, and a more established identity and value both within and outside the profession. As the word gets out that it’s a great resource, I hope arcCA’s early successes continue for many years to come.
Author Carol Shen, FAIA, is a principal at ELS Architecture and Urban Design in Berkeley and outgoing chair of the arcCA Editorial Board.
Originally published 2nd quarter 2003, in arcCA 03.2, “Global Practice.”
