Every work of architecture contains stories, most of them untold, that advance design knowledge.

In August 2005, AIA Seattle hosts Knowledge by Design/AIA NW+Pacific Region Case Study Conference. Convening as "learning practitioners," we gather with the intention to advance professional knowledge through the collection and telling of important stories that inform our projects and practices. In this spirit, AIA Seattle invites our colleagues from education and practice communities around the NW + Pacific and beyond to contribute narrative case studies, to bring forward information and share knowledge about 'unique and intriguing' practice-based experiences reflecting the diverse NW+Pacific design cultures. Conference Planning Committee Chair Rena Klein AIA, along with Directors Clark Llewellyn AIA and Norman Strong FAIA, urges AIA component and academic leaders to encourage submittals for the AIA Seattle Knowledge by Design Case Study Prize. According to Rena Klein, "The Case Study Prize will specifically gather and reward the knowledge elements that contribute to design excellence, similar to but expanding the way that AIA and other awards programs collect imagery and honor the physical achievements of design. We welcome all stories from which design and building professionals can learn, and particularly encourage the submission of case studies based on projects recognized by AIA component design awards programs."

The AIA national Knowledge Initiative, created to identify and distribute architects' special knowledge of the various factors affecting project design and service delivery, asks architects to engage as a learning community in finding new tools for expressing design knowledge. Supporting this direction, the act of preparing a case study provides the opportunity to capture and better understand the knowledge generated in practice – as well as the opportunity to engage both senior and emerging professionals in the acts of observing, documenting, and learning from a shared experience.

A distinguished jury representing academic and practical excellence will review all preliminary submittals and select a number of studies
. for presentation at Knowledge by Design/NW+Pacific Case Study Conference
. for web and print publication (Conference proceedings), and
. for consideration for a cash award of $5,000, to stimulate further development of the case.
The entry process offers guiding queries (see below) to assist in the development of case study narratives that advance design knowledge.
Leaders in the AIA Knowledge Initiative, the AIA Large Firm Roundtable, and the national AIA Case Study Workgroup make up the jury:
·Bruce Donnally AIA
·Clair Enlow
·Greg Kessler AIA
·Rena M. Klein AIA
·W. Mike Martin PhD, FAIA

Schedule
01/31/05 Entry/preliminary submittal deadline. Entrants may pay and upload preliminary submittal (per 'guiding queries' ["six easy questions"] below) in one session.
02/15/05 Final deadline for preliminary submittals (extended)
03/15/05 Preliminary submittals returned with constructive comments, guidance for preparing narrative, and directions for submittal of narrative and graphics
04/25/05 Submittal deadline for narrative case study with graphic illustrations 06/02/05 Submitters notified of the case studies chosen for presentation at Knowledge by Design
08/06/05 Jury selects/announces winner of AIA Seattle Case Study Prize from case studies presented at Knowledge by Design.

• Entry Fee (nonrefundable):
AIA Members (all categories): $50/entry
All others: $100/entry

. Eligibility
AIA Seattle welcomes submittals of project-based case study narratives reflecting the NW+Pacific design culture, from design and building professionals in all disciplines and career phases, including university-level students. Case Studies must document projects constructed or planned for construction within the AIA NW+ Pacific Region (Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Hong Kong, Guam), or by a project team including a licensed architect residing in the AIA NW + Pacific Region.

Narrative areas ("guiding queries") for preliminary submittal:
. Describe the context of the project: physical, cultural, relationships, other issues. (200 words)
. Describe any major dilemma, conflict, critical incident, or significant question addressed/resolved in the project. (200 words)
. Describe the role of major players: design team (range of disciplines), owner/client participants, community group(s), other. (200 words)
. What will the reader/audience learn from this story? (200 words - bullet points encouraged)
. Identify three keywords for indexing/searching relevant to this case.
. Synopsis: main points of the story (100 words or less)

General Guidelines
for preparation & submittal
What kind of project makes a good case study? And how do you put together the information in way that makes a good story?
Think of your project as a three-sided effort that results in a work of architecture. You see the work of design itself – that cultural or artistic process that gives form and presence to the building. Then you see the players – the client, the public entities and all of the people that take part in project delivery. Finally, you see the technical problems that the team must address and solve in order to complete the project.

Any case study will focus on one of these three sides, while the other two add dimension to the story. A good narrative brings forth both issues very particular to the project at hand, and those applicable to other projects and thus a wider audience. A good case study involves tension or conflict, resolution and change. And it gives the reader a look at the inside of an entity or event – a part not previously in the public view.

As you consider material for a case study, please think not only of success stories, but also of projects that failed in some fundamental way – possibly the most important and valuable case studies of all. Consider all that we now know about the World Trade Center, perhaps the most thoroughly and publicly analyzed structure on earth. Then again, think of the complicated process of rebuilding the site. Closer to home, consider the public attention focused on the Seattle Central Library, the culmination of a highly visible civic process and now a source of international attention.

The story of a work of architecture need not involve a historic tragedy or a highly celebrated designer. It might have changed the way people live or work, and it may have changed your practice. How would you tell the inside story of YOUR project?

Case Study Presentation at KbD
Conference organizers will invite submitters of selected case studies to present their studies at the conference in narrative form, with graphic illustrations. To promote learning and participation, we will ask presenters to tell the stories without revealing their resolution/solution, and to invite the audience to converse about possible solutions in small groups and in a culminating facilitated large-group discussion. In the end, the presenter(s) will reveal their analysis and answer(s).