Archinect - News

AIA President Kimberly Dowdell outlines the need for better K-12 outreach to strengthen the architecture profession

2024-05-31T14:43:00-04:00

Reflecting upon her activities during the recently passed Architecture Week in Detroit, AIA President Kimberly Dowdell outlined the need to engage with the key K-12 demographic in order to cultivate and better prepare the next generation of American architects to match the challenges they and the country will face tomorrow.

"If we want to engage the best young talent to help us grow our profession in the future, we must start now. Kindergarten through 12th grade engagement provides a wonderful opportunity to educate and excite students about the amazing field of architecture," Dowdell stated, also relating her experience as a young student in the city public school system.

Outlining her vision for institutional change in a new five-point agenda, Dowdell (also currently a trustee of her alma mater Cornell University) said better youth engagement can be achieved by further connecting the AIA’s K-12 nationwide resources; increasing support for the Architects Foundation’s scholarship pr...

AIA announces $10,000 in contributions to the ACE Mentor Program

2023-05-02T15:57:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced a new $10,000 donation to the ACE Mentor Program in the interest of supporting its mission to provide valuable afterschool opportunities to aspiring architects in 37 states.

The AIA shares that more than 4,000 professionals participate in the program, which impacts more than 10,000 students nationally. The program was first launched in New York in 1994 and serves a student body that is comprised of approximately 70% people of color.

The program has been greatly expanded since then, joining with the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in 2021 in a strategic partnership that helped to further expand its offerings to students.

“The work that ACE is doing in high schools across the country aligns with our mission to provide not just inspiration, but equitable access to our field,” ACE’s C...

Free 3D planning tool launched to help schools teach architecture

2021-09-30T16:17:00-04:00

Planner 5D, a digital design tool, has created a free educational version to help schools teach architecture and design. The tool, which allows users to generate 3D home designs, is offering its free educational licenses to “encourage students to foster their creativity in a digital realm while learning design principles.” The tool is available to teachers worldwide, who can download up to 100 free educational licenses for use by students.

The initiative has been launched to facilitate the teaching of STEM subjects to school kids, including focuses on art, architecture, engineering, and interior design. The app is centered on “problem based learning”, which invites students to develop computational skills by studying and solving home design challenges using a library of 6000 objects.

“With this free educational version for schools, we not only provide students across the globe with access to the platform but also help teachers to encourage them to foster their creativity while l...

Leading national architectural organizations collaborate to provide guides to help students and teachers explore careers in architecture

2021-04-16T10:25:00-04:00

Two new resource guides have been made available to help students and educators explore careers in architecture. “Your Guide to a Career in Architecture” is designed for high school students interested in joining the architectural community, while “Your Guide to Helping Students Consider a Career in Architecture” is intended for school counselors and educators to advise students through the process.

The guidelines are the result of a collaboration between the AIA, the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). As well as providing additional information for K-12 students already interested in an architectural career, the reports strive to broaden the base of students who may not have considered a pathway in architecture, but whose imagi...

Exhibit Columbus' 2021 site installations showcase the work of University Design Research Fellows and nine high school students

2021-03-31T09:00:00-04:00

Exhibit Columbus' virtual presentations allowed the public to join in online and listen to thirteen presentations from the event's University Design Research Fellows, High School Design Team, and J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize winners.

Exhibit Columbus has shared project renders for eight site-specific installations developed by the University Design Research Fellows and High School Design Team for an exclusive preview.

2020-2021 University Design Research Fellowship Installations

For this year's iteration, seven fellowships were awarded to leading professors of architecture, landscape architecture, and design from seven universities. Each installation highlights the research of each individual. Fellows were selected for their "ability to tackle specific sets of issues germane to the future of the city and the Mississippi Watershed region, such as sustainability and material reuse, non-human habitat, watershed ecologies, emergent technologies, and migration."

Derek Hoeferlin — W...