Further

Ken Kesey’s bus Further (photo by Joe Mabel)

As readers of SW Oregon Architect are aware, AIA-Southwestern Oregon is hosting the 2010 AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference here in Eugene. Toward that end, the 2010 Conference marketing committee, led by Barbara Harris, has been working hard assembling a promotional campaign. That effort includes a series of email “blasts” to targeted audiences. With online registration opening on June 15, the committee is directing the next blast to all AIA members and associates throughout the Region. The following is my draft of that message. Read on:

The 2010 AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference is sure to tickle your imagination and stimulate your intellect. Turn on, tune in, but don’t drop out: Join us October 13-16 in Eugene, Oregon and share our Emerald Vision.

We’ve organized an outstanding lineup of nationally-prominent speakers and local luminaries who will address the prospects for architecture in the decades to come. We’ll ask big questions and summon even bigger answers.

We’ll submit architecture to the acid test of relevance in an era of shifting paradigms and transformative technologies. An Emerald Vision will be a can’t-miss program with balance and depth.

We’ll take you further than you’ve ever been as we explore the future of architecture, design excellence, and genius loci, the underlying spirit of place. Come on board; this is a trip you won’t forget.

We promise psychedelically-brilliant fall foliage, innovative thinking, and hospitality. And here’s a great notion: Attend our conference and conveniently acquire all 18 of your annually required AIA learning units (including HSW and SD credits).

An Emerald Vision will draw heavily upon the contributions of the future generation of design leadership throughout the Region. We plan to highlight the University of Oregon in several ways. We’re arranging alumni get-togethers, and time with professors and students. We’ll spend almost all of Saturday, October 16 on campus. We timed the conference to fit the academic calendar.

We’re also offering a series of optional tours, with visits to Eugene projects by Morphosis, TVA & Ellerbe Becket, ZGF, and others, with an excursion further afield to Frank Lloyd Wright's Gordon House and Alvar Aalto's Mt. Angel Abbey Library. Don’t miss the bus! Guarantee your seat for tours to the Gordon House and Mt. Angel Abbey Library by signing up before Wednesday, June 30.

Make your 2010 Region Conference plans today. Register online at http://www.emeraldvision2010.com/.