There’s clichéd comfort in that characteristic shared by good and bad things alike—that they all, eventually, come to an end. And so we find ourselves at a point that seemed like it would never arrive: the end of 2020, the year that would not quit.
Let’s be clear: 2020 has been terrible. It has relentlessly and painfully pushed us beyond our limits with a confluence of events that revealed the many ills plaguing our society that we have ignored for too long. It’s played host to no fewer than four major crises, with more than 12 million COVID-19 cases and more than 255,000 dead in the U.S. alone; the brutality and undeniable effects of systemic racism and inequity that have resulted in increasing calls for social justice; the most active hurricane season ever, yet one more sign of the escalating effects of climate change; and a U.S. unemployment rate that reached a historic high in April and still hovers at twice the pre-pandemic level today.
But even within this crucible of events, there have been successes to celebrate. The National Organization of Minority Architects doubled its membership over the past two years and saw the highest-ever attendance at its 2020 virtual conference. While it is still too small and long overdue, the number of licensed Black women architects in the U.S. has reached the milestone of 500, according to the Directory of African American Architects. The more than 800 firms that signed AIA’s 2030 Commitment reported a pEUI reduction of 49% across their portfolios, suggesting that, while work remains to achieve a carbon-neutral future, real progress is being made. And, when confronted with mandates for social distancing and infection control, architects jumped to manufacture personal protective equipment and to distribute design guidelines to make our schools, healthcare facilities, offices, housing, and cities safer.
Just because 2020 will be behind us doesn’t mean that 2021 will be easy. There is much work to be done to make architecture accessible for all and to mitigate the effects of climate change. But I know that architects are not afraid of hard work, and I look forward to seeing how this resilient industry will continue to confront the challenge of designing the equitable, safe, and sustainable places and communities that will make the built environment better for all.
If this year has done anything, it has put things in perspective. ARCHITECT has always been a magazine about people, and it has been the honor of my life to have so many of you share your stories with me, and to trust me to share them with others—for that, I thank you. But, after much reflection, I have realized that it is time for this good thing to end, and for me to leave ARCHITECT to take on new challenges—to find new stories to tell and new ways in which to tell them.
I have called this magazine home for 14 years, and I am grateful for everything that I have learned here—from you, our readers, and from the incredibly talented editors, designers, writers, production staff, and administrators with whom it has been my privilege to work and who will continue to skillfully steer ARCHITECT on its way. Your stories are in the best of hands with them, and I cannot wait to see how ARCHITECT will continue to grow and thrive as a result of their efforts.
Design has the power to effect meaningful change in the world, and I am eager to engage with it in new and different ways. There’s so much more to learn, see, and do, and I am excited to start a new chapter. Thank you all for making this last one so meaningful.
I wish you peace in 2021.
