Event Description
You may have noticed that many business, conference and even some of our client presentations lack a coherent structure, meaningful content, and a memorable delivery.
As architects we know we must translate our clients’ needs from insight to impact. But it does not begin with a slideshow of our design solutions; it starts with a story.
Storytelling for architects is a design process—not unlike a building or urban design solution. Our stories must be true, are best experienced live, but they must always strive to resonate.
This session will focus on how architects can translate their insights into locally grounded, culturally responsive, and environmentally responsible stories using a story structuring framework - including strategies from neuroscience, and proven techniques that win competitions, awards, and project interviews.
Real world examples of storytelling applied in architecture today will be shared, including ‘The Chicken Hero’ story.
Resources
Story Template | Story Arc Guide | Story Resource List
CES: Estimated 1 LU for AIA Members
Speaker
James Scott Brew, FCSI, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, Senior Sustainability & Wellness Architect, NIKKEN SEKKEI
Moderator: Tom Bader, AIA, President, AIA Japan; Tom Bader Studio founder
Speaker Bio
James Scott Brew is a senior resilience and wellness architect with NIKKEN SEKKEI (Tokyo, Japan) where he specializes in helping to create healthy, sustainable, and energy efficient buildings that achieve greater resiliency for clients, campuses, and cities. He has over 35 years of design, management, and construction experience and has completed hundreds of projects—at many scales, focused on historic preservation, retrofits, healthy, high-performance, LEED/WELL certified, and Passive House buildings. His work extends from the U.S. to Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Before joining NIKKEN, Mr. Brew co-led the buildings practice at Rocky Mountain Institute and was a principal owner, vice-president and pioneer of sustainable design helping to grow his own Minnesota-based architecture and engineering firm from a small firm to nearly 200 people on 7 client focused teams.
Moderator Bio
Tom Bader is an architect with 40 years of experience across New York, Connecticut, and Chicago. After 28 years as an architect, part owner, and principal of the Chicago office of Wheeler Kearns Architects, he relocated to Tokyo in 2019, stepping away from the WKA partnership while continuing to consult on ongoing projects. Tom maintains residences in both Chicago and Tokyo and works on projects across the United States and Japan. In addition to architecture, he designs and builds furniture, photographs the urban landscape, and pursues a lifelong passion for learning and the craft of making.
Tom was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a registered architect in the state of Illinois and has been a member of the American Institute of Architects for over 35 years. He has contributed to numerous AIA award-winning projects and was a principal at Wheeler Kearns Architects during its recognition as AIA Chicago Firm of the Year in 1996 and 2016. He currently serves as President of AIA Japan 2026, having previously held the roles of Vice President and Secretary.
University of Cincinnati, Bachelor of Architecture, 1983
Yale University School of Art and Architecture, Master of Architecture II, 1990
