American Institute of Architects

More than 90,000 licensed architects and associated professionals are members. AIA members adhere to a code of ethics and professional conduct intended to assure clients, the public, and colleagues of an architect's dedication to the highest standards in professional practice.[5]

There are five levels of membership in the AIA:[6]

• Architect members (AIA) are licensed to practice architecture by a licensing authority in the United States.
• Associate members (Assoc. AIA) are not licensed to practice architecture but they are working under the supervision of an architect in a professional or technical capacity, have earned professional degrees in architecture, are faculty members in a university program in architecture, or are interns earning credit toward licensure.
• International associate members hold an architecture license or the equivalent from a licensing authority outside the United States.
• Emeritus members have been AIA members for 15 successive years and are at least 70 years of age or are incapacitated and unable to work in the architecture profession.
• Allied members are individuals whose professions are related to the building and design community, such as engineers, landscape architects, or planners; or senior executive staff from building and design-related companies, including publishers, product manufacturers, and research firms. Allied membership is a partnership with the AIA and the American Architectural Foundation.

There is no National AIA membership category for students, but they can become members of the American Institute of Architecture Students and many local and state chapters of the AIA have student membership categories.

The AIA's most prestigious honor is the designation (FAIA) of a member as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects. This membership is awarded to members who have made contributions of national significance to the profession. Slightly more than 2,600, or 2% of all members, have been elevated to the AIA College of Fellows. Foreign architects of prominence may be elected to the College as Honorary Fellows of the AIA.[7]

The AIA is governed by a Board of Directors and has a staff of more than 200 employees.[8] Although the AIA functions as a national organization, its 217 local and state chapters provide members with programming and direct services to support them throughout their professional lives. The chapters cover the entirety of the United States and its territories. Components also operate in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Canada.[9]

By speaking with a united voice, AIA architects influence government practices that affect the practice of the profession and the quality of American life. The AIA monitors legislative and regulatory actions and uses the collective power of its membership to participate in decision making by federal, state, and local policy makers. To serve the public, the AIA's community-based programs work with federal legislators and local governments to elevate the design of public spaces, protect the nation's infrastructure, and develop well-designed affordable housing for all Americans.

The American Institute of Architects announced in June 2013 at CGI America (an annual event of the Clinton Global Initiative) the creation of "Designing Recovery," a design contest in partnership with the charities Make It Right, SBP, and Architecture for Humanity.[10] Sponsored by Dow Building Solutions, a total of $30,000 in prize money was divided equally among three winning designs in New Orleans, Louisiana, Joplin, Missouri, and New York City.[10] Entrants submitted single-family housing designs with the objective of "improving the quality, diversity and resiliency of the housing in each community."[10] Organizers made the portfolio of designs (even from non-winners) available to communities recovering from natural disasters.[10]

The AIA serves its members with professional development opportunities, contract documents that are the model for the design and construction industry, professional and design information services, personal benefits, and client-oriented resources.

In contributing to their profession and communities, AIA members also participate in professional interest areas from design to regional and urban development and professional academies that are both the source and focus of new ideas and responses. To aid younger professionals, an Intern Development Program, Architect Registration Exam preparation courses, and employment referral services are frequently offered by local components.[11]

The AIA holds an annual conference in late spring / early summer that draws the largest gathering of architects in the world.[12]

The AIA attempts to meet the needs and interests of the nation's architects and the public by raising public awareness of the value of architecture and the importance of good design. To mark the AIA's 150th anniversary and to showcase how AIA members have helped shape the built environment, the AIA and Harris Interactive released findings from a public poll that asked Americans to name their favorite 150 works of architecture.[13]

Two of the AIA's public outreach efforts, the Blueprint for America nationwide community service initiative marking its 150th anniversary and the Sustainability 2030 Toolkit, a resource created to encourage mayors and community leaders to advocate environmentally friendly building design both earned an Award of Excellence in the 2007 Associations Advance America Awards, a national competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives and the Center for Association Leadership.

The AIA has long recognized individuals and organizations for their outstanding achievements in support of the architecture profession and the AIA.[14]

Honors Program:

• AIA Gold Medal
• Architecture Firm Award
• AIA/ACSA Topaz Medallion for Excellence in Architectural Education

Institute Honors: (for new and restoration projects anywhere in the world)

• Institute Honor Awards for Architecture
• Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture
• Institute Honor Awards for Regional and Urban Design
• Twenty-five Year Award

This award, recognizing architectural design of enduring significance, is conferred on a project that has stood the test of time for 25 to 35 years. The project must have been designed by an architect licensed in the United States at the time of the project's completion.[15]

• Institute Honors for Professional Achievement:
  • Associates Award
  • Collaborative Achievement Award
  • Edward C. Kemper Award
  • Thomas Jefferson Awards for Public Architecture
  • Whitney M. Young Jr. Award
  • Young Architects Award

AIA Committee on the Environment

• AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects

Cosponsored programs:

• AIA/ALA Library Building Awards
• AIA Housing Awards
• AIA/HUD Secretary's Housing and Community Design Awards

Membership Honors:

• Honorary Membership (Hon. AIA)
• Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA)
• Honorary Fellowship (Hon. FAIA)

Architect: The Journal of the American Institute of Architects is the official magazine of the AIA, published independently by Washington, D.C.-based business-to-business media company Hanley Wood, LLC. Architect hands out the annual Progressive Architecture Award, in addition to the R+D Awards[16] (for research and development). Architect formerly conducted an Annual Design Review, which it described as "a unique barometer of the business of architecture."[17]

Previously, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects was Architecture, which was preceded in turn by the Journal of the American Institute of Architects. Both publications are currently defunct.