At special member meetings hosted around the state April 11 and 17, members of AIA Colorado voted to merge the organizations into one entity. The local sections - AIA Denver, AIA Colorado North, AIA Colorado South and AIA Colorado West  - will relinquish their liabilities and administrative duties as stand-alone corporations, but will each maintain their local identity, local leaders, and local programming. In fact, they will now be more empowered to directly address member needs. Read the full press release.

The City of Colorado Springs is accepting applications to serve on the City Planning Commission, a nine-member body appointed by City Council to review various land use development applications and proposals. The commission meets the third Thursday of every month at 8:30 a.m. Please send applications and resumes before Friday, May 2, to Samantha Gunther or mail the information to City Council, Attention Samantha Gunther, P.O. Box 1575, Colorado Springs, CO 80901.

University of Colorado Denver's School of Architecture is seeking design professionals to participate in studio reviews and lend their insight from real world experience. What's in it for you? A chance to see the culmination of innovative work from this year's architecture classes. Studio blocks are generally 8 a.m. - noon and 12:30 - 5 p.m. and reviews will be held May 5 - 8. To sign up for a time, please contact Kat Vlahos, Department of Architecture chair, at kat.vlahos@ucdenver.edu.

It's officially spring and Denver B-cycle has created a unique employee benefit program specifically for AIA Colorado members. AIA Colorado members can now purchase bulk annual Denver B-cycle membership packages for any size office. B-cycle membership is the perfect employee benefit. B-cycle is great for commuting to and from the office, heading to a Rockies game, attending a lunch or running errands downtown, or heading to the zoo over the weekend. Denver B-cycle membership is the ideal way for employees to save on parking fees, stay fit, and enjoy the Colorado sun! Packages start at just $35 per membership and as a bonus, we'll put your company logo on one (or more) of our B-cycle bikes. Send an email to alex.roth@denverbikesharing.org to get started!

Released last week, former Denver-based RNL principals Ron Izzo, AIA, Tania Salgado, AIA, and Tom Wuertz, announced the birth of their collaborative residential, commercial and institutional practice Handprint Architecture. Izzo, Salgado and Wuertz chose to begin their own practice to refocus their passion as architects, and steer their course as designers. Handprint is currently focused on commercial, higher education and municipal projects, providing services ranging from conceptual and full design, construction administration, and including owner's representation services such as yield and feasibility studies. For more information, contact tania@handprintarchitecture.com.

We invite you to explore this year's Practice + Design Conference opportunities, including exhibiting, sponsoring and marketing your company among 400 local design professionals. Download the Call for Exhibitors & Sponsors today!

WHO: General contractors, engineers, consultants, product reps, service providers and more! WHAT: The largest trade show floor in the Western Mountain Region with more than 105 booths and tabletops! WHEN: October 9 - 11, 2014 WHERE: Keystone Resort & Conference Center WHY: Showcase your products, projects and services. Begin and build partnerships. Receive complimentary conference registration. Highlight your firm as a leader in the industry. HOW: Visit www.aiacoconference.org today!