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It's about seeing things that you otherwise wouldn't perceive.
That's the beauty of architecture.
Connie Searles, who for a dozen years has been executive director of the Idaho chapter of the American Institute of Architects, put it like this:
"Every building in one way or another affects your life. It could affect it negatively or positively. You could love to go to work in that building, or hate it. That's one thing I learned on this job."
"I've gone back to Washington, D.C. for three or four weeks of meetings over the last 20 years. I was walking up to the Senate building, and the architect I was with said, 'What a beautiful sidewalk. 'It was in-laid with gravel. It was more than just a concrete sidewalk."
"It's been a pleasure seeing through their eyes--structures, textures, the art in architecture."
The Idaho chapter of AIA that Searles directs is celebrating its 50th anniversary. It is a professional organization of 280 members and is growing 10 percent a year.
The Idaho AIA comprises four state sections. More than half its membership is located in the section that extends from Mountain Home through the Treasure Valley and up to McCall.
Nationally, the AIA, founded in 1857 and headquartered in