The American Institute of Architects welcomed elementary school girls from Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools to learn more about their craft the fun way during their Third Annual Girls’ LEGO Day.
The event, made possible by a generous grant from ACTIVATE North Carolina, allowed girls to speak with local designers, architects, engineers, and contractors about what it’s like to work in their profession during a morning session at Art for Art’s Sake in Winston-Salem. They brainstormed ideas for buildings and community planning schemes, then translated those ideas into physical prototypes using LEGO. Only about 17% of registered architects are women, and the AIA hopes that investing in early architectural education for girls will help diversify the field in the future.
“We’re really passionate about building the pipeline to our profession,” said Hannah Atkinson, 2024 Secretary for the AIA of Winston-Salem. “The more diversity you have on a design team, the more you think about how to build in a way that meets everyone’s needs.”
The third iteration of the annual event drew record interest, with 85 girls applying for the 30 available slots. The girls who participated had a great time flexing their creativity to come up with innovative ideas for the future of urban planning, including libraries in tree houses and outdoor complexes that combine community gardens and dog parks. The fun of building these creations with LEGO had many girls planning more building projects for the future.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Caleb’s Creek Elementary School Fifth Grader Nora Ortiz. “I hope someday I can build a house and fill it with LEGO.”
WS/FCS values every chance to help students find what they’re passionate about and what they can do to make the world a better place. When the AIA asked the district for help to promote the event and get more girls excited about architecture, it was a perfect fit. Participating in an event organized by a professional association and running their ideas past real architects made the potential for these girls to succeed in the field themselves some day feel much more concrete.
“We’re always looking for opportunities like this,” said Ashley Ortiz, Nora’s mother. “When you’re raising girls to believe they can do anything they want to do, you have to also show them that they can do anything they want to do.”
Atkinson was overjoyed by both the high interest in the event and the degrees of creativity, intuition, and capability that the girls displayed. If any of this year’s participants go on to become architects, then the future of the industry in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County will be brighter as a result.
“I continue to be blown away by the imagination, creativity, and skill of these students year after year,” Atkinson said. “I hope that our event planted a seed that they will continue to nurture and that these students will continue to pursue architecture and design.”