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    photo by Leonid Furmansky

Our 10th Annual Design Conference convened in snowy Jackson Hole, WY, on March 3-6, 2022. The weekend included the exploration of unique design, inspiring speakers, and curated tours to continue the conference established by Michael Malone, FAIA, and Mark Wellen, FAIA, ten years ago.

James Adams, AIA, provided a recap of the event below.


Day 1
A long day to kick off the long awaited 10th Annual DesCon. We had Yellowstone virtually to ourselves as we explored the flora and fauna of the region and indulged in a long exploration of the Old Faithful Inn, the largest log building in the world, designed by Robert Reamer and built in 1904. Returning to Jackson for the evening, we enjoyed a nice dinner in town after a 16-hour day!

Old Faithful Inn. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Inside Old Faithful Inn. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Tour group at Yellowstone. – photo courtesy Michael Malone, FAIA

Day 2
We kicked off the day with a tour of the office of CLB architects followed by a lecture at the National Museum of Wildlife Art led by John Carney, FAIA, and his partners from Prospect Studio. Afterwards we had the pleasure of touring three homes (including John’s own) and learning about the specific challenges of site design and systems solutions for each luxury residence. The active participation and mingling of our esteemed speakers is one of the great treasures of this annual conference.

Touring CLB Architects. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Residence tour. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Jackson Hole residence. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA

Day 3
Today was a high point as inspiration came from both thoughtful lectures and visiting two very detailed homes. We started with a welcome from Michael Malone, FAIA, on the history and uniqueness of Jackson Hole and how it became the host city for 10th Design Conference.

Tod Williams, AIA, and Billie Tsien, AIA, presented a selection of recent projects and the parti for each design.

Omar Ghandi from Nova Scotia followed up with a breakdown of the design process he developed over the past 11 years since forming his own practice.

Ray Calabro, FAIA, lead design principal for Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, presented the detailing of several projects before leading us on a tour of a glass and concrete retreat that reached out over the Gros Ventre Butte.

Lastly, we managed to get a quick walkthrough of a massive log cabin residence dripping in rusticated splendor. Our last night in town was spent intimately with some West Texas colleagues over a delicious dinner at The Kitchen and drinks at the ruckus that is called the Silver Dollar Bar.

View from Jackson Hole residence. – photo by Tommy Upchurch, FAIA
Inside the log cabin. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA
Detail inside the cabin. – photo by Tommy Upchurch, FAIA

Day 4

The TxA Design Conference winds down to an end. Today we started with a thoughtful panel discussion moderated by Brantley Hightower, AIA. Topics included approaches for providing community design, working with clients, collaborative ideation while working remotely, and the practice of craft.

Ray Calabro, FAIA, led us on a tour of the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center, a project I had the fortune of visiting this past summer. It was a privilege to return in winter while the center was closed to the public.

Now back to Dallas by way of Jackson Hole Airport … Until DesCon 2023!

Attendees of the 10th Annual Design Conference at the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center. – photo courtesy Michael Malone, FAIA
Inside the Craig Thomas Discovery & Visitor Center. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA.
Among the mountains. – photo by Audrey Maxwell, AIA.

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