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AIA Board of Directors "supports the protests to stop systemic, state-sanctioned violence against people of color. Period."

2020-06-05T18:39:00-04:00

Following a somewhat lukewarm reception to an initial statement released over the weekend from AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick touching on the recent days of anti-racism protests, the American Institute of Architects Board of Directors has issued an in-depth follow-up letter indicating their own support for the movement.

On Thursday, June 4, the AIA National Board of Directors issued the following statement:

To our members,

America’s list of racially motivated murders demand action. Eric Garner. Sandra Bland. Michael Brown. Shantel Davis. Atatiana Jefferson. Laquan McDonald. Tony McDade. Pamela Turner. Korryn Gaines. Trayvon Martin. Tamir Rice. Walter Scott. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd. All murdered, because they happened to be black in the United States of America. There are others, and, sadly, we know there will be more. No words can adequately express the depth of anger, frustration, and national shame for their loss or the more than 1,250 black lives ended ...

AIA updates pandemic re-occupancy design tools

2020-06-01T19:47:00-04:00

As part of an effort to help guide the transition to "new lifestyle norms" in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has published a collection of tools that spell out strategies for re-occupying and retrofitting existing spaces.

The tools, an ongoing COVID-19 response project developed by AIA as the pandemic has taken hold, are designed as "enhanced tools for reducing risk of COVID-19 transmission in buildings" set to be reoccupied as stay-at-home orders are gradually lifted.

Previously on Archinect: "AIA publishes guide for re-occupying shuttered buildings post-quarantine." Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Larsinio.

Building experts expect that many existing buildings, including offices, classrooms, shopping centers, and government facilities, will need to be temporarily retrofit for use that accommodates social distancing guidelines. These guides are aimed at helping inform those adaptations in a way that includes input from designers, arch...

AIA Conference on Architecture 2020 is officially cancelled

2020-04-16T17:03:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that its AIA Conference on Architecture 2020 has been cancelled for the foreseeable future.

As part of the cancellation, AIA will be refunding conference registration fees for those who had previously purchased tickets to the three-day event, which was originally scheduled for May 14-16th in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles authorities have indicated that the city’s shelter-in-place directives would remain in place through mid-May at the very least. In mid-March, AIA announced that it was postponing the conference, but did not give a new date for the event.

Now, as the likelihood that social distancing measures will remain in place perhaps into the summer months becomes more widely acknowledged, the organization has opted to begin preparations for a potential virtual event, the latest in a series of such transitions.

In a statement published by AIA, AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick, FAIA writes, “After carefully monitoring COVID-1...

AIA asks Congress for help in stemming losses from COVID-19

2020-03-20T13:43:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has sent a letter to congress asking for aid to small businesses in response to the economic crash resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

A press release from the AIA highlights that AIA 2020 President Jane Frederick, FAIA, and AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, have sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell asking the American federal government to “expand temporary relief for business owners to avoid layoffs and the sharp economic downturn that would follow.”

In addition, the letter also asks the government to extend “Small Business Interruption Loans for businesses under 500 employees to cover the costs of payroll while employees may not be able to work due to their own health concerns or the effects of social isolation on a massive scale.”

Previously on Archinect: “US economy is now in a recession as economic activity, including construction, grinds to a halt.” The United Stat...

Jane Frederick takes office as AIA 2020 President

2019-12-17T18:18:00-05:00

L. Jane Frederick, principal at Frederick + Frederick Architects in Beaufort, South Carolina, has been inaugurated as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) president for the year 2020.

Aside from running an award-winning practice and being a Fellow of the AIA, Frederick has played various roles within the AIA organization itself in previous years, including serving as the AIA 2019 first vice president, South Atlantic Regional representative on the AIA Strategic Council, and president of AIA South Carolina. Frederick has also served on the AIA Small Firm Round Table Executive Committee and on National Architecture Accreditation Board accreditation teams, according to an AIA announcement highlighting her inauguration.

Frederick + Frederick Architects, which bills itself as a firm offering "unparalleled expertise in hot and humid architecture," received AIA South Carolina's 2017 Firm Award, among other awards.

As the new head of the national AIA organization, Frederick follows A...