NOMA AZ

Chapter Meeting — February 2023
2023-02-13 18:00 - 19:15 (America/Phoenix) | Henderson Engineers, 5343 N 16th St, Phoenix, AZ, 85016, United States
FREE event
Non-members welcome
Complimentary snacks + refreshments
RSVP in-person
RSVP ZOOM (if you are unable to attend in person)

DATE CHANGE – normally chapter meetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. Due to Valentine’s day and Arizona’s birthday, we thought we would give you the night off to accommodate any celebrations you may have for these special occasions. We moved the date of our chapter meeting to Monday, February 13th. Same time – 6:00pm-7:15pm.
Join us at Henderson Engineers with our special guest Courtney Carter to discus preserving historic barrios sites in Phoenix followed by upcoming events, committee happenings, what we’ve been up to, and the chance to raise your hand to get involved. Bring a friend – all are welcome. Member, non-member, student, architect, engineer, manufacturer, marketer — chapter meetings are open to all.

Guest: Courtney Carter, ACE, Economic Development Program Manager at the City of Phoenix
Topic: Preserving Historic Barrios Sites in Phoenix
Location: Henderson Engineers (the south building on the south east corner of Missouri and 16th St.)
Parking: On-surface parking lot between the 2 buildings – Henderson Engineers’ office is located on level 4, take 2 rights off the elevators. (see photo below)

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If you would like to host a chapter meeting – please reach out to Maurita at president@nomaarizona.org

5-Year Visioning Meeting
2023-01-28 09:00 - 13:00 | multistudio, 521 S 3rd St #100, Phoenix, AZ, 85004
RSVP now

Calling all NOMA Arizona and NOMAS members! We need your presence this Saturday 9am-1pm at Multistudio for our first 5-year visioning meeting.
At the end of 2022 our chapter was recognized nationally as Large Chapter of the Year leading the West region and we were awarded 5-Star status for our great efforts across many criteria. As we approach our 5-year anniversary this year in 2023, it’s time to look toward the next 5 years and beyond to establish our goals and strategies for the chapter’s next phase to continue this excellence in service. From a humble 17 members in 2018 to now over 100 members in 2023, we look forward to finding new ways to inspire and empower our underserved-communities in Arizona by providing resources that support professional and personal growth and development.
From this session we will produce a report that will ultimately be shared at the National level. All NOMA Arizona and NOMAS members are welcome and encouraged to attend this session. Everyone attending will have a morning full of engaging, collaborative and fun activities with the chance to participate and decide what our chapter will look like in the next 5 years including what we can do right now to get there. Your opinion and voice will make our chapter stronger and increase the impact on our community. Let’s continue to lead the West region as a chapter and foster equity, diversity, and inclusion for all.
Food provided and free to attend.
The session will be moderated by Saravanan Bala, AIA, NCARB, NOMA, ALEP — a Principal at Orcutt Winslow. As one of the leaders in the Education Studio, he has led numerous Visioning Meetings with Orcutt Winslow staff, varying schools and school districts, as well as the community. He will bring this experience to our NOMAarizona Visioning Session this Saturday.

NOMA/ULI Arizona/USGBC New Year Networking Night
2023-01-17 16:00 - 18:00 | The Shop Beer Co, 922 W 1st Street, Tempe, AZ, 85281, United States
ULI Arizona, NOMA Arizona and the U.S. Green Building Council invite you to a New Year Networking Night on January 17th. Join us as we toast the New Year, re-connect with friends and colleagues and mingle with members of each organization. This is a great opportunity to expand your network! This event is FREE but you must RSVP to attend through the ULI Website here; cash bar. We hope to see you there!
Thank you to our program partners

Women + Non-Binary Coffee Talk with AIA PHX Metro
2023-01-14 10:00 - 11:30 | The McKinley Club, 734 W Polk St, Phoenix, AZ, 85007, United States
FREE event
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
Pour-over coffee by Kanfuela (Woman-owned) available for purchase
RSVP here

NOMAarizona, in collaboration with the AIA PHX Metro DEI committee, is kicking off the 2023 year by co-hosting a Women + Non-Binary Coffee Talk at the women-owned McKinley Club, welcoming all non-binary people and those who identify as women in the AEC industry.
This coffee talk will be a place for safe, non-judgmental discussion about the struggles, issues, values, successes, and impacts these communities face within the industry.
This informal, open conversation will also be a place for honest, judgement free discussions among women and non-binary people that aim to shed some light on the most pressing issues these communities face in the AEC industry.
The discussions and topics from here will be noted with the goal of curating a future educational event, open to everyone, during Women’s History Month in March.
This is a free event welcome to members, non-members, students, the public, and anyone involved in the Architecture/Engineering/Construction industry.
Free parking is available at the McKinley Club in the lot east of the building and south across Polk Street along with free street parking along Polk street.

Arcadia Inc. Manufacturing Tour
2023-01-13 15:00 - 17:00 | Arcadia Inc, 2920 E. Chambers Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85040, United States
We are kicking off the 2023 year with a wonderful tour hosted by our friends at Arcadia Inc. Join Ken Martinek & Brooke Montelongo as they lead us on this free, guided tour of the Arcadia Inc. manufacturing facility. They will discuss a brief history of Arcadia, the services they offer, the difference between storefront and curtain wall, and guidelines for specifying and detailing wall systems.

RSVP here – Maximum of 25 people so please secure your spot!
Complimentary food provided
Please wear closed shoes – safety glasses will be given

If you have any questions, contact Brooke Montelongo at bmontelongo@arcadiainc.com
Thank you to Arcadia Inc. for having us! If you would like to host a tour please contact our president at president@nomaarizona.org

Chapter Meeting with NFBPA — January 2023
2023-01-10 18:00 - 19:15 | Corgan, 1850 N Central Ave #300, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
FREE event
Complimentary snacks provided
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP in person here
RSVP virtual here

Join us for the first chapter meeting of 2023 to meet + mix with our friends from NFBPA and learn about upcoming events like our 2023 Coffee Talk series and Arcadia Inc Tour. We will kick off the meeting with a Mix ‘n Mingle Bingo activity to get to know everyone in the room. This is also a great opportunity to hear from the committees, learn what we’ve been up to, and raise your hand to get involved. Bring a friend – member, non-member, architect, engineer, manufacturer, marketer — chapter meetings are open to all!

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About NFBPA
The National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) is the principal and most progressive organization dedicated to the advancement of black public leadership in local and state governments. NFBPA is an independent, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1983. With over 2,500 members, NFBPA has established a national reputation for designing and implementing quality leadership development initiatives of unparalleled success.
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If you would like to host a chapter meeting – please reach out to Maurita at president@nomaarizona.org

Community Day of Service
2022-12-17 10:00 - 12:00 | Richard Kennedy Architects, 4450 N 12th St #200, Phoenix, AZ, 85014, United States
Community Day of Service: Mutual Aid PHX community fridge clean up/refill
Each year our chapter participates in giving back to the local community. This year, our chapter voted to focus on contributions to grassroots mutual aid efforts in the Central Phoenix Community. Now through December 17th we invite you and everyone you know to collect non-perishable foods/goods and monetary donations for perishables to be purchased on our day of service on December 17th. Our goal is to come together on Saturday December 17th where we will divide all who come into two groups. The items we’ve collected will be divided among the groups and we will set off to tidy up and refill the two local fridges located in the Encanto and Garfield neighborhoods. Should folks want to drop-off goods before December 17th, Richard Kennedy is more than happy to collect and store in their office until December 17th.

What: Mutual Aid PHX community fridge clean up/refill
Where: Richard Kennedy Architects is the collection site for our efforts. The two community fridges are located in the Phoenix Encanto and Garfield neighborhoods.
When: Drop off donations now through December 17th at Richard Kennedy Architects. The day of actual service will be December 17th at 10am.

About Mutual Aid PHX

We are an all-volunteer grassroots group operating in Phoenix, AZ.
We are prioritizing folks who are sick, disabled, quarantined without pay, elderly, undocumented, queer, Black, Indigenous, and/or people of color — including those displaced from Phoenix to the nearby areas.
We know that there are enough material resources for everybody in the community. We facilitate the redistribution of resources and create connections to various resources and community-led organizations.

What is mutual aid? (from the Mutual Aid PHX website)

Mutual aid is solidarity, not charity. we believe that, together, we can build a more survivable system, where we take the responsibility of caring for one another, rather than relying on the state or its enforced individualism.
Mutual aid is voluntary exchange, with the goal of redistributing resources within and between communities.
We know there is enough for everyone.
We keep each other safe.

Chapter Meeting — December 2022
2022-12-13 18:00 - 19:15 | RSP Architects, 502 S College Ave # 203, Phoenix, AZ, 85281, United States
FREE event
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP in-person here (so we know how many refreshments to provide)
RSVP Via Zoom

Join us to learn about upcoming events like our annual Home Cooking Away from Home holiday event and Community Day of Service. This is also a great opportunity to hear from the committees, learn what we’ve been up to, and raise your hand to get involved. Bring a friend – all are welcome. Member, non-member, architect, engineer, manufacturer, marketer — chapter meetings are open to all.
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If you would like to host a chapter meeting – please reach out to Maurita at president@nomaarizona.org

Home Cooking Away From Home
2022-12-10 17:00 - 20:00 | Steele Indian School Park, 300 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85012, United States
FREE event
Complimentary dinner, dessert, and drinks
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP please so we know how much food to order

Four years ago in the early years of our chapter we realized that the holiday season was missing a crucial element for some of our members that hail from other places — a family gathering. For those unable to be with their friends and family, we decided to start a potluck-style casual gathering that we dubbed “home cooking away from home” consisting of our membership to fellowship with culturally familiar food and drink as a taste of home.
The event has evolved over the years and through COVID-19 to suit different needs – but we are thrilled to gather in person again this year at Steele Indian School Park under the ramada embracing the nice weather. Rather than potluck style – the main course will be catered HOWEVER we are asking our members to please bring a small dessert representative of their culture to share with the group if they would like.
Friends are welcome! Please bring anyone you would like but be sure to RSVP so we know how much food to prepare.

Location details
We have reserved ramadas W1 and W2 near Lot A at the north west side near Bird Lake at Steele Indian School Park.

AIA Arizona Awards Gala NOMA AZ After Party
2022-11-12 21:30 - 23:30 | Don Wood’s Say When, 400 W Camelback Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85013, United States
Free to attend (food and drink on individual tabs)
Non-members and 21+ students welcome

Last year at the AIA Awards Gala a large group of NOMA Arizona members attended and the energy in the audience was electric! We’re hoping to bring the same representation this year and continue the party after the gala at Don Wood’s Say When rooftop bar for libations (for purchase), snacks (for purchase), and celebration. Even if you’re unable to attend the gala, please join us at the after party to let your hair down and enjoy time with your NOMA Arizona family!
Don Wood’s Say When is a rooftop bar located atop the Rise Uptown Hotel off Camelback near Lylo Swim Club and Cartel Roasting Co.
Visit the AIA Arizona website for more information about the Awards Gala.

Thank you to Airpark Signs & Graphics, Arcadia Inc, and Salt River Project for donating tickets to the AIA Awards Gala event.

Chapter Meeting — November 2022
2022-11-08 18:00 - 19:15 | Orcutt Winslow, 2929 N Central Ave 11th floor, Phoenix, AZ, 85012, United States
FREE event
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP in-person here (so we know how many refreshments to provide)
RSVP via Zoom here

Join us in collaboration with the Phoenix chapter of the Construction Specification Institute (CSI Phoenix) for a panel discussion about the importance of construction documents featuring specification writers from various local firms. Thank you to Orcutt Winslow for hosting our chapter meeting this month.
We will also share upcoming events like Coffee Talks, NOMAS events, and our annual Home Cooking Away from Home holiday event. This is also a great opportunity to hear from the committees, learn what we’ve been up to, and raise your hand to get involved. Bring a friend – all are welcome. Member, non-member, architect, engineer, manufacturer, marketer — chapter meetings are open to all.
Join us at Orcutt Winslow — snacks and refreshments provided and tour the space after the meeting.

Parking Instructions: Guests to park in the parking garage east of the office building, located on the SW corner of Catalina Dr & 2nd St. Parking tickets will be validated at Orcutt Winslow office (before/after the meeting, preferably before the meeting). Map below.

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Panelists
Ronald L. Geren
FCSI Lifetime Member, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CDT, CSC, SCIP
RLGA Technical Services
Barbara Faulwetter
RA, CCS, LEED AP
Architect, Construction Specifications Manager
Mark Yarish
Senior Associate
RA, CSI, NCARB
Orcutt | Winslow
Lorna Govier, CDT
Specification Writer
bws|Architects
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If you would like to host a chapter meeting – please reach out to Maurita at president@nomaarizona.org

NOMA National Conference
2022-10-26 - 2022-10-30 | AZ
NOMA national is proud to present the annual NOMA Conference UNPLUGGED on October 26 – 30, 2022. What does ‘Unplugged’ mean? At this year’s annual conference, over 1,000 professional designers from across the nation plan to cut loose from our routine of staying indoors by ‘unplugging’ from our ritualistic ZOOM calls and fellowshipping once again with colleagues and friends. We are excited to host the conference in Nashville showcasing the best food, dance, art, culture, and music that “Music City” has to offer.
We invite you to join us in Nashville as we honor our history, relish our present-day accomplishments, and look to build a brighter future for our profession and our communities.
Register here

Coffee Talk # 5
2022-10-22 10:00 - 11:30 | Fair Trade Cafe, 1020 1st Ave, Phoenix, AZ, 85003, United States
This Month’s Topic: Who Are you? — Are there times when your culture collides with your profession rather than coincide?

Free event – no membership needed
RSVP here

Every other month join us for Coffee Talks – order a warm/iced beverage of your choice from rotating cafe locations around the valley, get comfortable, and bring your open mind to this productive discussion where NOMAarizona facilitators will ask the group questions and hold space to share, listen, and learn from each other in a casual setting.
This is intended to be a forum for discussion of ideas and for learning about differing viewpoints. In discussions around diversity and equity it is important to understand that everyone sees and experiences the world differently – what seems “right” in your experience may not be so in someone else’s. Everyone is asked to consider different perspectives, for the purpose of sensitivity, learning, and growth. Members of NOMAarizona will typically be the facilitators for our discussions. We are not experts. We are simply here to help facilitate the process. We are here, like everyone else, to learn.
We have reserved the patio outside at Fair Trade Cafe located off 1st ave between Roosevelt and Portland on the corner beneath the apartment complex. You can park in the Cathedral parking garage.
If you have a topic you’d like to chat about or a location to suggest – submit to jena.m.esquivel@gmail.com

Chapter Meeting — October 2022
2022-10-11 18:00 - 19:15 | Holly Street Studio, 1319 E Van Buren St, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, United States
FREE event
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP in-person here by Friday, October 7th (so we know how many refreshments to provide)
RSVP virtual here

This month we are meeting at the new location of Holly Street Studio located on Van Buren. We are joined by a guest, Sam Gomes – Founder and Executive Director of the local organization The Sagrado. He will joins us to discuss his work about public engagement for underserved communities.
We will also share upcoming events like Coffee Talks, happy hour with Urban Land Institute, and our annual Home Cooking Away from Home holiday event. This is also a great opportunity to hear from the committees, learn what we’ve been up to, and raise your hand to get involved. Bring a friend – all are welcome. Member, non-member, architect, engineer, manufacturer, marketer — chapter meetings are open to all.
Join us at Holly Street Studio — snacks and refreshments provided and tour the space after the meeting.

ARE Prep Session 6 - Construction & Evaluation
2022-09-24 09:00 - 11:30 | Zoom
Each month we will cover one division of the ARE 5.0 Exam Prep in a virtual session with two licensed architects from our chapter. Join us Saturdays at 9am where you’lll have direct access to interact with content experts to assist your journey to licensure.

Coffee Talk #4
2022-09-17 10:00 - 11:30 | Sp_ce Coffee, 1736 E McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, United States
This Month’s Topic: Decolonization — What does it mean to you?
Free event – no membership needed
RSVP here
Every other month join us for Coffee Talks – order a warm/iced beverage of your choice from rotating cafe locations around the valley, get comfortable, and bring your open mind to this productive discussion where NOMAarizona facilitators will ask the group questions and hold space to share, listen, and learn from each other in a casual setting.
This is intended to be a forum for discussion of ideas and for learning about differing viewpoints. In discussions around diversity and equity it is important to understand that everyone sees and experiences the world differently – what seems “right” in your experience may not be so in someone else’s. Everyone is asked to consider different perspectives, for the purpose of sensitivity, learning, and growth. Members of NOMAarizona will typically be the facilitators for our discussions. We are not experts. We are simply here to help facilitate the process. We are here, like everyone else, to learn.
Join us at Sp_ce Coffee located at 1736 E McDowell Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85006
If you have a topic you’d like to chat about – submit to jena.m.esquivel@gmail.com

Chapter Meeting — September 2022
2022-09-13 18:00 - 19:15 | SmithGroup, 455 N. Third St. Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
FREE event
Non-members, students, and future members welcome
RSVP here

This month join us for an informal chapter meeting to get to know each other. No formal agenda, just our usual go ’round the room and tell us WHO you are not just what you do. Our strength is our diversity and we want to know about what makes you, YOU!
Join us at SmithGroup — snacks and refreshments provided and tour the space after the meeting. If you’re participating in the office tour, please bring closed-toe shoes as this is a construction site. It will be great to see the behind the scenes of this remodel!
Please park in the AZ Center garage. Parking validation provided.

Professional Development - Effective, Successful Delegation
2022-09-06 18:00 - 19:00 | The Reference Library, 99 E. Virginia Ave., Suite 140, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, United States
FREE Event – open to public, students, and non-members
Complimentary refreshments and snacks provided
Optional Zoom attendance (must register online)

RSVP in-person
RSVP virtual
Join us for a professional development event at the Reference Library on Tuesday, September 6th from 6-7pm with speaker Cheyne Brown, IIDA, LEED AP ID+C, Fitwell Ambassador, from Corgan. The event entails discussing our speaker’s means and methods for delegating work, including worksheets and organization to enhance the delegation process.
This is a great way to get involved with our NOMA Arizona Chapter while learning how to effectively and successfully delegate work. Hope to see you there!

For questions contact Norma Escandon Michaels — norma@nminteriors.biz, 602-677-3954

2023 Planning Session
2022-08-27 09:00 - 13:00 | PHX Architecture, 15990 N Greenway-Hayden Loop, Scottsdale, AZ, 85260, United States
Each year in August we meet to discuss the future of our NOMA Arizona chapter. If you’ve been searching for a way to get involved, be heard, and influence the direction our chapter is moving, mark this event on your calendar and plan to attend! It’s open to any and all – you don’t have to be a board member or committee leader or an architect or minority to share your ideas and solutions. All are welcome – our strength is our diversity!
We look forward to seeing you there!
RSVP in-person here
RSVP virtual here
For questions, please e-mail president@nomaarizona.org

ARE Prep Session 5 - Project Development & Documentation
2022-08-20 09:00 - 11:30 | Zoom

Chapter Meeting - August 2022
2022-08-09 18:00 - 19:15 | multistudio, 521 S 3rd St #100, Phoenix, AZ, 85004
We’re back from our summer break and have an exciting chapter meeting coming up on Tuesday, August 9th at 6pm at multistudio (formerly Gould Evans).
Our friends from the Tracing Architecture podcast will be in attendance to record a live session about Decolonizing Architecture: Regaining and Reincorporating the Erased Cultural Knowledge into Design and Design Education. The session is part of the AIA College of Fellows Emerging Professionals Component Grant.
Panelists

Wanda Dalla Costa, AIA, OAA, AAA, LEED A.P. — Arizona State University
Shundana Yusaf شندانه یوسف — University of Utah (joining remotely)
Nicholl Hubbell, Assoc. IIDA, WELL AP — Shepley Bulfinch
Luis Cruz-Martinez, AIA, LEED AP — Shepley Bulfinch
Christopher Locke — Designing in Color (joining remotely)
Rubin Quarcoopome — Designing in Color (joining remotely)

Please RSVP here so we know how many complimentary snacks to provide. If you’d like to attend virtually, please register on Zoom here.
Masks will be required for those not vaccinated.
This is your chance to connect with the chapter members and committees, learn what events are coming up, sign up to volunteer, and get involved.
#ourstrengthisourdiversity
About the Panelists

Wanda Dalla Costa, AIA, LEED A.P. is a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation. She is an architect and an Institute professor and was recently named the 2022 Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architecture Institute of Canada. At Arizona State University, she is the director and founder of the Indigenous Design Collaborative, a community-driven design and construction program, which brings together tribal community members, industry and a multidisciplinary team of ASU students and faculty to co-design solutions for tribal communities. Dalla Costa was part of Unceded at the 2018 Venice Biennale where she joined 18 Indigenous architects from across Turtle Island to share an Indigenous vision of the future. Her firm, Tawaw Architecture Collective (www.tawarc.com) is based in Phoenix.

Shundana Yusafشندانه یوسف is an Associate Professor of Architectural History and Theory at the School of Architecture, Uni¬versity of Utah. Her scholarship juxtaposes colonial/ postcolonial history with sound studies in architecture, framing each as a force of globalization. She is the author of Broadcasting Buildings: Architecture on the Wireless, 1927-1945 (MIT Press, 2014) and SAH Archipedia Utah (Virginia University Press, 2019). She is currently completing the manuscript of her third book project: The Resonant Tomb: A Feminist History of Sufi Shrines in Pakistan. Together with Ole Fischer, she is the founding editor of Dialectic: Journal of the School of Architecture, University of Utah.
She is also the founding member of Nááts’ílid Initiative, a Navajo Community Development Collaborative, committed to strengthening the cultural and economic resilience of Dinétah through initiatives in the built environment. In 2021-2022, she raised $10 million from federal agencies and private donors for Nááts’ílid. In 2023, she will be a Clark fellow at Clark Art Institute in Williams College, Massachusetts.

Nicholl Hubbell, Assoc. IIDA, WELL AP is a designer at Shepley Bulfinch. She is a member of the Diné (Navajo) tribe. Her goals as a designer are to create comfortable, safe, inclusive environments while positively impacting the health and wellness of the users. There are so many layers to reach the final design and the entire process is fascinating; learning new skills, building relationships & building experiences drives her from project to project. She hopes to increase representation in the field because as indigenous people, we are designers at heart. We have so much to offer the profession building off our unique experiences, beautiful land, beautiful people and beautiful cultures.

Luis Cruz-Martinez, AIA, LEED AP was raised in the small town of Camuy in the Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico. In early 2000, after earning his undergraduate degree in Environmental Design he moved his life from the island of Puerto Rico to the desert of Arizona and is proud of being a part of Phoenix’s thriving design community ever since. The journey began with as a pursuit of a Master of Architecture which has led to a lifetime development. Along the way he has been incredibly lucky, crossing paths with extraordinary individuals who have pushed, challenged, and educated him, shaping his craft and life in unparalleled ways. These mentors have had a great impact in developing his passion for coaching and encouraging the development of younger members of our community, helping them achieve their maximum potential, just as he was similarly shaped.

Christopher Locke was raised by a hardworking and loving Jamaican family. He challenges the established practices of architecture as a black designer, spatial advocate, and filmmaker to create spaces for equitable and liberated change. He is the Co-founder of Designing in Color (DCo), an award-winning collective of architects and designers of culture. Designing in Color’s mission aims to diversify the way architecture is taught and practiced to amplify marginalized communities who’ve been historically silenced and erased throughout the design process. Working throughout the country, DCo facilitates educational programming, creates workshops, designs socially responsible projects, and distributes digital initiatives, each meant to dismantle the systemic racism built into the practice of architecture.
Full-time he is also currently a job captain at Steinberg Hart in LA. As a designer, he has experience working on affordable housing, workplace offices, and educational services all uniquely created to its spaces equitable for its users.
Christopher is also a member of SoCal NOMA where he is actively engaged in youth mentorship through the organization’s pipeline project summer camp. In 2017 Christopher co-founded small talks:LA, a community-based project created to assemble a network of people and construct safe spaces to unify the disparate voices of Los Angeles. Operating as “pop-up” events, this program is an opportunity for all members of a community to engage in dialogue about the current state of their environment and how to change it. With the creation of Designing in Color and small talks: LA, he uses filmmaking as a method to study the current housing crisis across the city as a means of telling stories for narratives unknown. As a creative he believes that new processes that center black and brown voices as the expertise of design innovation can create a more just society that unbuilds racism and white supremacy in the built environment.

Rubin Quarcoopome loves a good story. From his childhood days in Ghana hearing his father’s tales of the mischievous Anansi to his adolescence in Detroit absorbing anime and movies and video game narratives, the allure of riveting tale helps him understand and empathize with the world and its people. As an adult, Rubin’s artistic work latched onto photography and digital painting. He relishes the exploration of the afrofuturist and the afrosurrealist, finding exciting ways to make the ordinary weird, and the weird ordinary. His work focuses on telling Black stories and opening doors and ways for others in the BIPOC community to thrive. His work in the architectural field responds to that same passion. He seeks opportunities to center communities and tell new stories, all while having gained experience designing movie theaters, office spaces, and industrial facilities for major clients.
Rubin’s artistic and architectural work overlaps with his start-up, Designing in Color, an organization he co-founded with longtime colleagues meant to diversify the way architecture is taught and practiced. As the chief of design, his various contributions have given vision to the concepts he and the team presented at Harvard University, the AIA National Board, and NOMA Conferences, among many other workshops, lectures, and speaking engagements.
His work has been featured at the Bellevue Arts Museum and the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, as well as published in Blank Space’s Fairy Tale anthology, Moevir Magazine, and Vigour Magazine.

Coffee Talk #3
2022-06-25 10:00 - 11:30 | Xanadu Coffee, 625 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ, 85006, United States
Every other month join us for Coffee Talks – order a warm/iced beverage of your choice from rotating cafe locations around the valley, get comfortable, and bring your open mind to this productive discussion where NOMAarizona facilitators will ask the group questions and hold space to share, listen, and learn from each other in a casual setting.
This month’s chat will be held at Xanadu Coffee Co in downtown Phoenix.
This is intended to be a forum for discussion of ideas and for learning about differing viewpoints. In discussions around diversity and equity it is important to understand that everyone sees and experiences the world differently – what seems “right” in your experience may not be so in someone else’s. Everyone is asked to consider different perspectives, for the purpose of sensitivity, learning, and growth. Members of NOMAarizona will typically be the facilitators for our discussions. We are not experts. We are simply here to help facilitate the process. We are here, like everyone else, to learn.

Chapter Meeting - June 2022
2022-06-14 18:00 - 19:15 | AZ

ARE Session - Division 4, Project Planning & Design
2022-06-11 09:00 - 11:30 | Zoom

Project Pipeline - Everyone Can Create
2022-06-06 08:00 - 2022-06-09 12:00 | Southwest Elementary School, 6000 South 7th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85042, United States
NOMA Arizona has partnered with Roosevelt School District to host a Project Pipeline camp that introduces middle school students to architecture through various lessons, with the ultimate goal of creating a group project. It’s free for Roosevelt School District Students in 6th-8th grade and free to volunteer to help! Please sign up below.
June 6th – 9th
8am – noon daily
Day 1 – Intro & Sketching
Day 2 – Architectural Types and Scale
Day 3- Materials & Inspiration, Model
Day 4 – Model & Presentation
