2025 A4LE Regional Conference
The 2025 A4LE Conference was a collaboration between the Pacific Northwest Region and the State of Washington chapter. It was held in Tacoma this year and hosted 450+ attendees!
The conference theme was “Future Forward,” proposing that “we must work collaboratively to create sustainable, climate-friendly learning environments that can support diverse and evolving student needs. We must move beyond incremental changes and embrace flexible, future-focused learning environments that prioritize adaptability, resilience, and inclusivity to foster a sense of belonging and promote social connection.”
So much good content! From the keynote, to presentation sessions, to the closing awards, the conference was a feast for the mind.
The Keynote speaker was Mark Bryan, Senior Foresight Manager, at Future Today Strategy Group. It’s his job to write as well as read published and unpublished papers to weave together threads of what might happen in the future for “how we live, work, play, and otherwise interact with the world around us.” As an NCIDQ Certified Interior Designer, Mark presented a battalion of ideas for how the built environment and technology can support future learners. Very heady stuff, and perhaps a bit frightening for some at our table.
You know it’s been a good conference when you meet attendees afterwards and the first question is “what was your favorite session?” It’s even better when everyone’s answers are different. The content really spoke to the wide variety of people involved in education, whether they’re architects, engineers, vendors, teachers, or administrators.
Two standouts for me were, first, Renton School District and BRIC Architecture presenting on how “adaptable, resilient, and inclusive learning environments” can be created by thoughtfully engaging specific audiences by utilizing a project-specific “toolkit” of engagement strategies.
Courtesy of BRIC Architecture
Next was a presentation by Mahlum and the Bellevue Big Picture School noting how “Aging Schools Can be Modernized to Support Future Generations.” With increasing construction costs and a focus on sustainability sometimes the most sustainable choice is to reuse and modify an existing building rather than replacing it. Mahlum showed how various carbon calculation tools introduced reduction metrics, ultimately reducing the carbon footprint of the project by 56% compared to new construction.
But above all, I’ll remember presenting with Taine Wilton of Edmonds School District, Joyce Wheeler and Shelton Ensley of Studio Pacifica, and our own Becca Wolfe. Our session focused on an ADA assessment of a selected number of buildings for Edmonds School District, determining related costs, and carefully projecting those costs to the District’s remaining schools. Presenting at A4LE was a first for me and I couldn’t have asked for a better presentation team.
This year’s A4LE National Conference “LearningSCAPES” is in Phoenix, October 29 – November 1. However, next year’s is in Seattle, November 4-7. Save the Date!
Learn more here: https://www.a4le.org/A4LE/A4LE/Programs_Awards/LearningSCAPES_Conferences.aspx
—Brian Poppe, Partner