Written By: Amanda Brookes, Catalyst Partners
As I reflect on the AIA Aspire Conference in Asheville, the message was clear: designing for impact doesn’t mean solving everything at once, it means setting milestones and advancing one step at a time.
This year’s conference carried that message forward in profound ways, from the keynote stage to the Climate Symposium and breakout discussions.
“Why is it so hard to do good?”
Jasmine Crowe-Houston, founder and CEO of Goodr, challenged us to think differently about the way we approach impact. She reminded us that sometimes we build without the endgame in mind, when in reality, lasting change comes from building with heart and setting milestones that guide the journey. She never imagined serving one million meals would be possible until incremental steps carried her there.
That same lesson applies to sustainability within the built environment: when we focus on small, intentional actions, we can achieve extraordinary outcomes.
Designing for Resilience
At the Climate Symposium, the dialogue around recovery and resilience was shaped by the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, underscoring why our work matters. We were reminded that building to today’s codes often means creating structures already outdated the moment they’re complete. To truly serve our clients and communities, we must plan, design and construct for the future – not for yesterday’s standards.
Resources like toolkit.climate.gov give us frameworks to start small yet build toward resilience:
- Begin with assessing risk and exposure
- Set achievable performance goals
- Design for extremes, not just the minimums that codes require
- Celebrate progress along the way
It’s not about solving everything overnight. It’s about setting incremental goals that build toward a more sustainable, resilient future.
Carrying It Forward
Walking through the sessions, listening to peers, hearing from experts, and engaging with passionate professionals reinforced what makes this community so special: our willingness to roll up our sleeves and take step-by-step action.
Whether it’s returning personal items found along the riverbanks during cleanup, serving meals to families in need, or designing the next generation of resilient buildings – each step forward matters.
At Catalyst Partners, we believe every conversation, every project, and every decision is an opportunity to do good and to keep building momentum toward something greater.
The work ahead is big, but we don’t have to tackle it all at once. We simply need to take the next step.
