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NOMA's Foundation Fellowship nurtures the next generation of architects and designers through mentorship and professional development at 19 architecture firms

2021-07-08T14:15:00-04:00

Mentorship opportunities for young architects and design professionals have been an ongoing mission for The National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA). Now in its third iteration, NOMA announces 24 architecture students who will be part of the 2021 summer cohort for the NOMA Foundation Fellowship (NFF).

This two-month research fellowship will take place in person and virtually at 19 leading U.S.-based architecture firms. NOMA shares: "The NFF 2021 cohort will engage in design research and benefit from firm mentorship." In addition, NOMA has worked hard in building partnerships with various architecture firms that have collaborated with the NFF to provide professional experience to underrepresented students. This fellowship allows students to connect with the profession by establishing a pipeline for eventual employment once the fellowship ends.

In February 2021, NOMA announced its list of Winter Fellows consisting of ten students who were placed at ten design firms. Includ...

AIAS publishes digital resources guide for architecture students

2021-04-20T12:21:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) has published a 65-page document containing a wealth of tools, tips, and resources aimed at architecture students. The “Digital Resources” tool was compiled by the AIAS Design and Technology Task Force, and is described as “a tool for optimizing your design workflow and software knowledge.”

The toolkit is divided into five sections: competitions, entourage, website resources, remote learning, and tutorials. The Competitions section gives descriptions, links, entry fees, and prize information for 16 competitions or competitions platforms accessible to students, with topics ranging from materiality to film. The Entourage section offers links to 13 resources for scale figures for use in collages, montages, and renderings, while the Website Resources section offers 12 online resources where students can access apps, objects, blocks, icons, and textures for a variety of popular programs including Revit, AutoCAD, Photoshop, and Illust...

AIAS launches survey to reassess studio culture's broken status quo

2015-05-01T14:27:00-04:00

Sleepless nights and demeaning crits have long been lambasted and perpetuated as part of the necessarily rigorous "rites of passage" for architecture students. While some may accept the difficult studio culture as a badge of honor, there has been a rising volume of protests against the unhealthful atmosphere it creates, with questionable benefits for actual education. The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) first formally addressed such issues in 2002, publishing "The Redesign of Studio Culture", a report meant to outline positive aspects of studio culture that should be made mandatory within NAAB accreditation.

Now, AIAS is launching "Studio Culture 3.0" to reassesses the progress made since that initial study. Focusing in particular on the changing technological aspects of architecture education, the hope is to better understand both the culture and environment of architectural education – physically and pedagogically. The investigation, began in 2014 by the AIAS adv...