Exploring AI, Performance, and Design: Lake Flato at AIA26
Lake Flato is heading to San Diego for the AIA26 Conference on Architecture & Design, where team members will contribute to several sessions focused on some of the profession’s most relevant and rapidly evolving topics.
June 4, 2026The week begins with a full-day symposium exploring practical applications of artificial intelligence in architectural practice, featuring Lake Flato Director of Design Technology, Dan Stine, alongside other industry leaders. Additional sessions will examine post-occupancy research related to daylight, occupant comfort, and design performance, presented by Design Performance Manager ,Kate Sector Gregg, as well as lessons learned from net-zero and net-positive energy portfolios shared by Director of Design Performance Heather Gayle Holdridge.
The firm’s participation concludes on Friday with a campus tour of Francis Parker School, led by Partners Greg Papay and Brandi Rickels. The tour offers attendees an opportunity to experience the project firsthand and reflect on a design effort that has evolved over more than two decades.
Session Presentation
Wednesday, June 10
Practical AI for Every Architect, hosted by Technology in Architectural Practice and the AI Task Force
9:00-5:00 p.m. | San Diego Convention Center Ballroom 20D | 6.25 RIBA/LU
AI is no longer a future concept in architecture—it’s already reshaping everyday practice.
Join Lake Flato Director of Design Technology Dan Stine and colleagues at the 2026 TAP Symposium as they explore what it means to be an AI-enabled architect. Featuring accessible tools and other emerging platforms, the symposium will examine how AI is transforming documentation, coordination, visualization, decision-making, and more. From design through project delivery and practice operations, sessions will highlight practical, real-world applications of AI across the “parts of the day” architects navigate every day.
- Daniel Stine – Lake Flato, Director of Design Technology & additional panelists
Session Presentation
Wednesday, June 10
What Post-Occupancy Studies Teach Us About Daylight, Comfort, & Design
2:00-3:00 p.m. | San Diego Convention Center Meeting Room 24 | 1 HSW/RIBA
Join Lake Flato Design Performance Manager Kate Sector Gregg and Amirali Ghourkhanehchi Zirak, Graduate Research Assistant at UT San Antonio, as they present post-occupancy evaluation (POE) findings with a focus on daylighting. The session will also explore practical methods for studying your own projects, including assessments of thermal comfort, acoustics, indoor air quality, and other key POE topics.
- Kate Sector Gregg – Lake Flato, Design Performance Manager
- Amirali Ghourkhanehchi Zirak – Graduate Research Assistant/Ph.D. Student at UT San Antonio
Session Presentation
Thursday, June 11
The Net-Zero Energy Rollercoaster: Hold on Tight
2:30-3:30 p.m. | San Diego Convention Center Meeting Room 23 | 1 RIBA/LU/GBCI/Net Zero
Drawing from the net-zero energy portfolios of Lake Flato and HDR, Lake Flato Sustainability Director Heather Holdridge and HDR Director of Sustainable Design Colin Rohlfing will explore the challenges, lessons learned, and breakthroughs behind net-positive design — a journey best described as a rollercoaster ride.Through a range of public and private case studies spanning multiple building typologies, scales, and climate zones, attendees will gain practical insights into net-positive energy strategies, embodied carbon reduction, and the integration of resilient building systems.
- Heather Holdridge – Lake Flato, Sustainability Director
- Colin Rohlfing – HDR, Director of Sustainable Design
AIA26 Tour: Francis Parker School
Friday, June 12
Twenty Years of Campus-Making: Francis Parker School
12:30-3:00 p.m. | San Diego Convention Center Lobby H | 1.5 GBCI/RIBA/LU
Join Lake Flato Partners Greg Papay and Brandi Rickels for a tour of the AIA CAE Award-winning Francis Parker School campus. Originally selected through a national design competition in 2002, the collaborative team of Lake Flato, Domus, and Gensler transformed the school’s 20-acre Middle and Upper School campus into one of the country’s most compelling learning environments. Inspired by Southern California modernism and featuring tilt-wall construction throughout, the campus integrates architecture, landscape, and pedagogy to support wellness and learning.
During the tour, participants will explore principles of campus planning, programming, design, construction, and financing while experiencing the campus’s 15+ buildings and grounds firsthand. Discussions will examine the unique challenges of campus design, the role of culture, climate, craft, and landscape in place-making, and how the built environment can catalyze learning and support student well-being.
