Archinect - Features

How to Understand Architecture Business Conditions Using the AIA's Architecture Billings Index

2024-05-20T08:23:00-04:00

Since 1995, the American Institute of Architects has conducted a monthly index detailing trends in billings by architecture firms in the United States. Over time, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) has become a valuable metric for charting the economic health of the profession, with Archinect reporting on the index monthly since 2012.

To help readers better understand how metrics from ABI translate into the reality of design and construction and to equip them with the tools to interpret the numbers, understand their source, and delineate between various categories, we have assembled a series of questions and answers pertaining to the index.

The AIA Praised Trump and Biden's Infrastructure Plans But Lacks Political Vision to Draw Connections to Structural Racism

2021-06-08T08:01:00-04:00

In November 2016, the Executive Vice President and CEO, of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Robert Ivy, issued a statement congratulating President-elect Trump and the new Congress. Speaking for the organization’s 95,000 members, Ivy said they were “ready to work” with Trump to improve America’s infrastructure. Within liberal and progressive circles, the backlash was swift, given the divisive nature of Trump’s infrastructure plans, which included significant expansion of the southern border wall with Mexico and more coal power plants.

Op-Ed: Paul R. Williams — The Complexity of being an Architectural Icon (and Black)

2021-02-23T10:42:00-05:00

When asked to reflect on the impact that Paul R. Williams has had on my career as an architect, I was initially hesitant. How do you quantify the importance of such an icon of the profession? I did not grow up in Los Angeles. I grew up in Seattle. I always wanted to be an architect. Architects and designers are in my family. Paul R Williams was not the first Black Architect that I was exposed to. I went to a majority architecture school in New York. PRW was not covered in our euro-centric architecture curriculum. I was only exposed to PRW through the National Organization of Minority Architects, while I was in college. Immediately upon learning about his works, I felt woefully behind. Since that time, including a move to Los Angeles, I have experienced some of his works in person, met some of his family members, and had conversations with colleagues who knew him directly. His icon status is undeniable, and should be amplified and celebrated exponentially, however, for me his legacy ...

Soapbox: Diversity

2018-01-25T09:00:00-05:00

Soapbox is a weekly series delivering a curated set of lectures, talks and symposia concerning contemporary themes but explored through the archives of lectures past and present. With the plethora of lectures, talks, symposia and panels occurring world wide on a daily basis, how can we begin to keep up and if not, find them once they are gone? Soapbox looks to assemble a selection of recent, archived and outlier lectures surrounding a given theme. Soapbox looks to curate this never-ending library of ideas into an engaging and diverse list of thoughts and provocations. Soapbox is just that, a collection aimed at discovering the occasional needle in a haystack.

Architecture Firms Tell Us How Marketing Requires an Evolved Set of Social Skills

2017-09-06T12:03:00-04:00

Not long ago, marketing for architecture firms primarily relied on word of mouth. Golf games, dinners at country clubs and schmoozing were once a big part of the job description for the person in charge the firm's marketing. The field, however, has shifted dramatically and fraternizing with wealthy elites in the hopes of them becoming one's next client are getting replaced with competition entries, press kits, social media, and branding.

MITHUN designs 125-foot-tall Sustainability Treehouse in West Virginia

2017-08-02T12:16:00-04:00

Built on the arborous slopes of the 10,600-acre Summit Bechtel Reserve in Mount Hope, West Virginia, the Sustainability Treehouse stands as a beacon of outdoor adventure, environmental stewardship, and high-performance design, as design architect MITHUN describes. The Seattle- and San Francisco-based practice worked alongside executive architect/architect of record BNIM and developer Trinity Works to bring the public educational facility to life for the Boy Scouts of America. In 2014, the project was named an AIA COTE Top Ten Green Project.

How can architecture become more diverse? On May 5th, L.A. AIA's "Encompass" conference addresses this question

2017-05-04T11:44:00-04:00

Although there's always a few ignorant and ignoble members of any profession, architecture is primarily made up of progressively-minded, ethically-bound professionals. So why is architecture so white, male, and socioeconically monolithic? More importantly, how can these statistics be changed?

A voting guide for Los Angeles architects on the anti-growth Measure S

2017-03-06T12:24:00-05:00

Opposed by a majority of architects, yet backed by a handful of prominent Angelenos including AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein, Measure S is on the March 7th ballot. Is it a sneaky ratification of NIMBY, or a sensible call for considered growth?

Architects Respond to the AIA’s Statement in Support of President-Elect Donald Trump

2016-11-14T14:42:00-05:00

The AIA’s formal statement, and follow-up, in response to Donald J. Trump’s election has elicited outrage within the architecture community. Architects, AIA-members and not, feel that the organization has failed to represent their interests, choosing instead to cooperate with what many equate to a fascist regime, and in so doing has compromised the entire profession. Architects have taken to social media to air their concerns and organize their own responses—we’ll be updating this piece with more statements as the issue evolves, and collecting them all over here. Share your thoughts with us by submitting to the news here.

The lazy architect's guide to completing continuing education credits

2016-09-23T11:59:00-04:00

What are continuing education credits, and why are they necessary? More importantly, what’s the easiest way of completing them? For your convenience, we've put together an overview of the AIA's Continuing Education System, and seven simple solutions for getting through it.