SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Following three days of presentations, tours, speeches and a rousing environmental “call to action” by former Vice President Al Gore, AIA San Antonio topped off the closing session of the AIA 2007 National Convention and Design Expo with a touch of down-to-earth Texas hospitality: presenting custom-made cowboy boots to American Institute of Architects President RK Stewart, FAIA. AIA San Antonio, host chapter of the blockbuster convention, presented Stewart and other AIA national leaders with the stunning red and black, hand-tooled leather Justin boots, emblazoned with the AIA logo. The closing audience of about 3,000 architects and allied professionals clapped, hooted and hollered their approval. “It was a great way to end a great three days,” said Chris Schultz, AIA, president of AIA San Antonio. “We wanted RK and the other AIA leaders to leave our city with a sustainable token of our appreciation and warm memories of one of the most successful AIA national conventions ever.” “AIA 150: Growing Beyond Green,” celebrated the AIA’s 150th anniversary while focusing on ways architects can employ environmentally conscious building design to join what Gore calls “the front lines” of the green movement in this country and abroad. Approximately 22,000 people from all over the world attended the conference, which generated an estimated $29 million economic impact for the Alamo City. AIA San Antonio created a “green thread” that ran through all host chapter activities. The chapter served organically grown food and vegetables and filtered Texas rainwater at host chapter functions, produced a recyclable green guide to the convention, created a sustainable AIA San Antonio gift store and lounge that will become San Antonio’s new Center for Architecture, created San Antonio’s first-ever green map and published a new guide to the Alamo City’s architecture, “Traditions and Visions: San Antonio Architecture,” which will be used to promote cultural tourism. The chapter’s host party, “Fiesta! San Antonio” at historic La Villita, attracted more than 2,000 guests, boasted sustainable features, non-stop dining and dancing and ended with a bang: a Texas-sized 13-minute fireworks display honoring AIA’s 150th birthday. “We are proud and honored that AIA chose San Antonio to host this historic convention devoted to finding ways to ensure our planet’s future,” Schultz said.
