Venus Williams will be a keynote speaker at the AIA Conference on Architecture

2021-06-15T07:58:00-04:00

This year’s AIA Conference on Architecture just got an unexpected celebrity guest.

Tennis legend Venus Williams will be the keynote speaker at this year’s edition of the conference, where she will deliver a lecture titled ‘The Need for Change.’

Williams, who has long been seen as a champion of gender and racial equity, has made a name for herself in architectural circles lately after starting her own interior design firm V Starr in 2002. The Florida-based firm made waves earlier this year for its reworking of sister Serena’s 14,500 square foot Spanish-style mansion in Miami that included an infinity pool, 620 square foot closet, Gaggenau appliances, wine cellar, and white-walled gallery space meant to showcase the superlative collection the younger Williams has amassed over her three decade career.

The 40-year-old former grand slam champion has also partnered with Airbnb affiliate Niido on the design for the interior of their eponymous apartment complexes, which began operation in 2...

AIA's 2021 conference will take place online this summer

2021-04-14T20:54:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects has revealed more details about this year's AIA Conference on Architecture: due to ongoing COVID-19 safety concerns, the event will be, for the first time ever, held entirely online over the course of four days spread across June, July, and August. Each conference day will be dedicated to one of these four themes: firm resilience, sustainable practice, community engagement, and building efficiencies.

Keynote events outlined in the A'21 schedule so far include chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian José Andrés, the "father of environmental justice" Dr. Robert Bullard, and 99% Invisible creator and host Roman Mars.

The conference dates are June 17, July 8, July 29, and August 19, and special pricing on tickets is available now through May 4. All keynotes and seminars will be available on-demand following each event.

Last year, the 2020 conference, originally scheduled for May 14-16th in Los Angeles, was initially postponed and ultimately canceled in r...

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Venus Williams will be a keynote speaker at the AIA Conference on Architecture

AIA's 2021 conference will take place online this summer