James Scott Brew - The Chicken Hero Always Wins: Storytelling for Architects
2026-03-27 19:00 - 21:00 (Asia/Tokyo)
Friday, March 27, 2026
1900 JST
The event is an online event that is part of AIA International Spring Conference. More information and registration here.

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.
Speaker
James Scott Brew, FCSI, AIA, LEED AP, WELL AP, Senior Sustainability & Wellness Architect, NIKKEN SEKKEI
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.

Save the Date: Lecture by Balazs Bognar
2026-04-09 18:30 - 20:30 | Cosentino Showroom, イノックス青山 6 Chome-4-14 Minamiaoyama, Minato City, Tokyo, 107-0062, Japan
Wednesday, April 9
6:30 PM
Cosentino Showroom

Please save the date for a special evening with Balazs Bognar, Partner and Executive Vice President at Kengo Kuma & Associates and 2025 AIA President. More details and registration information will be shared soon.

AIA International Mentorship Program 2026 - Kick-Off Session
2026-04-24
The AIA International Global Mentorship Program invites everyone to join our 2026 Kickoff Session on April 24.
When: Friday 24 April 2026 – Time to be confirmed
Where: Online

Description
Join the AIA International Global Mentorship Program’s first group session!
The theme of the 2026 AIA International Mentorship Program is Design by Discovery.
To design is to experiment. By questioning norms and continuously testing ideas, we unlock new forms, materials, and spatial experiences. This series highlights the power of experimentation—from re-use to radical rethinking—to expand the limits of what architecture and design can be. Participants are invited to share and discover processes that challenge, refine, and ultimately elevate our practice.
The mentorship program includes regular digital group events which are open to all, as well as digital one-to-one mentoring.
To participate in the 2026 program, please fill out the form and REGISTER HERE >>>.
You can register to participate as a mentor / mentee, or affiliate and receive regular email updates. To participate as a mentor / mentee, please complete the registration by June 1st.
This program is open to all to participate.
If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Bryant at emergingprofessionals@aiainternational.org
For more information on future sessions, please see our Upcoming Events page.
