2018 Directory

16 WYOMING ARCHITECTURE .18 | www.aia-wyoming.org BY DAN STALKER, AIA AIA Conference on Architecture 2018 T his year’s National Conference was convened in the Big Apple — New York City. Carl Elefante, FAIA, our 2018 AIA President welcomed over 26,000 architects from around the globe, including two from Wyoming, to New York for what would be a week of unfor- gettable memories. A Blueprint for Better Cit- ies was this year's theme. What I learned more than anything during the conference, because it so strikingly obvious, is the huge impact that architects have on their communities, large and small. Old buildings, new buildings, falafel stands, Times Square, Central Park, the Empire State Building, MOMA, the list is endless. This was my first visit to New York and I was committed to introducing myself to as many architects as possible, to visit as many landmarks as feasible and most of all, I was committed to enjoy the big city atmosphere at every opportunity. My wife Barb accompanied me and we were really looking forward to seeing everything that New York had to offer. Try as we might, there were but a few places we didn’t get the chance to visit. We didn’t make it to see the Bronx Bombers or witness the Mets "let an- other one get away" nor did we find the time to visit Ellis Island. After our flight from Denver, we boarded the subway just outside JFK (in Ja- maica man) and proceeded through Brooklyn to Manhattan. We enjoyed the trip so much we simply forgot to get off at our designated station. (It was entirely Barb’s fault). We were then forced to take an Uber from the subway's final stop, the World Trade Center, to our hotel located just south of Central Park. The Uber trip was so much fun we decided to do it again the following day. I am pleased to report that I am now an Uber as well as a subway aficionado. Most of the conference activities were con- vened at the Javits Center on West 35th Street and 11th Avenue. We quickly got used to New York cross street jargon and how to locate buildings, parks and landmarks. I also board- ed a bus to attend a session at one of the New School campuses in the center of downtown Manhattan. Mistake. One thing we discovered in New York is one of the curses of modern times, the traffic jamb. Horns aplenty. Don’t ever board a bus between sessions. One had better plan well ahead if one wants to arrive anywhere on time. I attended continuing education meetings in the mornings. I also walked several times through the caverns of Javits to attend the massive AIA trade show, where I handed out business cards, talked with vendors, etc. I typically set time aside in the afternoon to tour the ethnic neighborhoods and boroughs