Archinect - News

AIA's Robert Ivy is announced this year's winner of the Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award

2021-10-07T16:10:00-04:00

AIA Executive Vice President and CEO Robert Ivy, FAIA, has been given the Mortimer M. Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Institute of Building Science in recognition of the architect’s “lifetime of dedication to mission and goals of the organization” which focuses on the ensuring community health and safety through promoting technical advancements in building science.

Ivy has been instrumental in his decade-long tenure as the head of the largest professional organization of architects in the US, overseeing, amongst some missteps, its transition into the digital age as well as the restructuring of its board of directors and expansion to a record number of 95,000 members.

Ivy has also served as Editor-in-chief of McGraw-Hill’s Architectural Record and was a practicing architect for many years in his hometown of Columbus, Mississippi, where he still maintains a home.

“Robert’s work over the course of his career has elevated the entire profession of architecture,” Laki...

AIA teams up with members of Congress to address student loan debt forgiveness

2021-09-28T16:40:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced that they are working with members of Congress to help craft student loan debt relief and create more entryways towards the architecture field.

The potential pathways for student loan debt relief include service-based loan forgiveness in the Civilian Climate Corps, a newly proposed $10 billion program that would employ young people to short-term jobs or training programs that focus on renewable technology and building resilience against the threats of climate change. AIA is teaming up with the American Bar Association to highlight that high student loan debt is an equity issue that deters students from considering professions in architecture.

AIA 2021 President Peter Exley, FAIA, and AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA, met with South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn on September 21 to explain how student loan debt is negatively impacting the architecture profession.

“AIA stands ready to work with Congressman...

As the AIA bids farewell to Robert Ivy and prepares for his retirement, the organization searches for a new Executive VP and CEO

2021-05-03T16:50:00-04:00

Robert Ivy, FAIA, was appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer for the AIA in 2011. After a decade of leadership, Ivy announced he will be retiring at the end of 2021. During his time at the AIA, Ivy was involved in several transitional moments that were "instrumental in successfully moving the organization forward through challenging times, realigning its values with today's membership, and positioning the organization to address society's most pressing challenges, including climate action and racial and ethnic equity," shared current AIA President Peter Exley, FAIA.

Referred to as a "vocal advocate for architects," by the AIA, Ivy joined Archinect for a chat in 2015 where we had him as a guest on the Archinect Sessions podcast. During the conversation he discussed the AIA's "I Look Up" (#ilookup) public awareness campaign.

However, his contributions and "legacy" leading the AIA are not viewed as noteworthy among all its members and those within the industry...

AIA condemns changes to Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule

2020-07-29T19:36:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has issued a statement condemning recently announced changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Last week, HUD Secretary Ben Carson announced changes to the landmark Obama-era directive that effectively remove requirements for municipalities to analyze and ultimately reverse patterns of segregation within their neighborhoods.

Previously on Archinect: "Trump administration terminates Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule." View of the HUD headquarters in Washington, D.C.Image courtesy of Wikimedia user dbking

The change has been in the works since 2018 and news of its final implementation was met with strong resistance from housing activists.

In a statement condemning the changes, AIA EVP/Chief Executive Officer Robert Ivy, FAIA writes, "AIA strongly opposes the Administration’s dismantling of this critical r...

AIA's Robert Ivy issues guidance for architecture firms coping with COVID-19 fall out

2020-03-17T13:21:00-04:00

Robert Ivy, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has penned a letter to AIA members offering advice and resources for how firms and individuals can navigate the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The global spread of the novel coronavirus-19 strain has swiftly disrupted the work of the architecture and construction industries over the last few days as cities across the country (and the world) have enacted restrictions on travel and as many businesses and universities have transitioned to temporary remote work situations.

Ivy's message, which touches on what firms can do, plans for rescheduling the recently cancelled AIA Conference, and other topics, is published in full below.

Dear AIA community,

We are living in a challenging time. As we awaken each new day of this unfolding public health emergency, our perspective changes, sometimes radically. Despite all of our professional knowledge and technical mastery, the COVID-19 crisis...

Robert Ivy to receive Lifetime Achievement Award

2018-04-11T13:48:00-04:00

American Institute of Architects CEO and EVP Robert Ivy will be honored with the Noel Polk Lifetime Achievement Award by the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters.

Given to currently active Mississippi-connected artists and art patrons, Ivy is the first architect to receive the Polk Award. The list of previous honorees includes actor Morgan Freeman (2007), writer Shelby Foote (2004), writer Eudora Welty (2001), singer Leontyne Price (2000), and the late artist Walter Anderson (1989).

AIA President Carl Elefante praised Ivy's selection, saying: "As the CEO of AIA since 2011, and as an author, editor and practicing architect, Robert Ivy is a worthy ambassador for our profession. This award comes as a crowning personal and professional achievement for him as a native of Mississippi. On behalf of the AIA, I am truly delighted to congratulate him on this unique honor."

Ivy's previous accolades include the designation Master Architect by the national architecture fraternity Alpha Rho...

NEXT CITY publishes an article by Bryan Lee on the latest riff between AIA and its members

2016-11-21T15:12:00-05:00

“You are not a profession that has distinguished itself by your social and civic contributions to the cause of civil rights, and I am sure this has not come to you as any shock. You are most distinguished by your thunderous silence and your complete irrelevance.”

"We have fallen short and Mr. Ivy, in this instance, does nothing to belie the concerns of the membership. It is all too easy for us to be cynical and skeptical at times like these, when the more precise tool (and one we are built for) is to be critical and creative. The AIA made a mistake and has apologized both publicly and privately, but apologies mean nothing without action. Now is the time to press the Institute to act. Act as an apolitical (not bipartisan) force for social good in the built environment. I wholeheartedly believe that to protest is to have an unyielding faith in the potential for a just society. As a member of the AIA, I am not removing myself from the conversation. Instead I will continue to stand and I will continue to protest, when necessary, in hopes of a better profession.

To that end, I encourage those within the profession to acknowledge the cultural implications of our work and become forceful advocates for true equity and design justice. I am calling on ...

Compared to AIA letters issued during Obama's election, CEO Robert Ivy's statement on Trump is far from "business as usual"

2016-11-18T19:47:00-05:00

Welp, that was fast. On yesterday's episode of Archinect Sessions ("#89: AIAWOL"), while discussing the recent fallout over the AIA's statement pledging support of President-elect Trump, Paul sent out an open call to listeners: send us any other statements made by the AIA in response to a prior presidential election. Within hours of posting the episode, the AIA responded with two statements: one from President Obama's election in 2008 (dated 11/24/2008), and one from his reelection in 2012 (dated 11/7/2012).

While all three statements appear, on their face, as form-letters expressing that the AIA will work with the President-elect insofar as their usual role demands, the 2008/2012 statements differ in a few key ways from the one AIA CEO Robert Ivy made in the wake of this year's election, provoking outrage among members.

For one, neither the 2008 nor 2012 statements are signed by any one person—they quote from the concurrent AIA President or CEO, but are not issued as if directly from...

AIA CEO and President issue "special message to members" in latest response to #NotMyAIA debacle

2016-11-17T20:46:00-05:00

After AIA CEO Robert Ivy's statement in support of President-elect Donald Trump's administration drew fire from AIA members and architectural organizations—resulting in the #NotMyAIA hashtag and threats to not renew membership—Ivy and AIA President Russell Davidson responded with a special apology video to try and assuage members. More details on the timeline of events can be found here.

The dissenting discussion and frustration with AIA's "spineless" response to the repudiation of a "business as usual" attitude continued on Twitter, and has apparently not fallen on deaf ears, now that Ivy and Davidson have issued yet another statement on the AIA's website.

Their complete letter, posted here on November 17, is as follows:

A special message to members

AIA CEO/EVP Robert Ivy, FAIA, and 2016 AIA President Russell Davidson, FAIA, November 17, 2016

The impassioned responses to the recent AIA press statement concerning the future presidential administration make clear that the experience of th...

AIA leaders release video apology for statement in support of President-Elect Trump

2016-11-15T12:31:00-05:00

Last week, following the election of Donald J. Trump, the AIA’s CEO, Robert Ivy, issued a statement in support of the President-Elect. The statement quickly provoked controversy, with many AIA members rejecting the sentiment and some even leaving the organization. We collected statements, responses, and tweets from architects here.

Later, Mr. Ivy released a response to criticism voiced by Architect Newspaper’s editorial team. Many found the statement equivocal, and not an adequate denouncement of the vitriolic, racist, and sexist rhetoric of the President-Elect.

Yesterday, Mr. Ivy, alongside the 2016 AIA President Russell Davidson, released a video apologizing for the earlier statement. In it, the two leaders of the organization take responsibility for the statement and the uproar it caused.

“Our world changed last Tuesday,” states Mr. Ivy. “Many of us, including me, were shocked and stunned and we’re still grappling with our feelings about what this election means for our country.

Unfo...

AIA Chicago responds to AIA CEO's statement in support of President-elect Donald Trump

2016-11-14T20:00:00-05:00

The AIA Chicago Board of Directors wants to assure our members that we do not support the recent statement made by national AIA on November 10, which prematurely expressed the support of AIA’s 89,000 members for an unarticulated infrastructure agenda made by the incoming presidential administration.

Chicago's AIA chapter has joined a growing list of local chapters, individuals and other architectural organizations who have expressed concerns over AIA CEO Robert Ivy's statement in support of the Trump administration. For a complete run-down of the debacle and its evolution into the #NotMyAIA hashtag, see our explainer.

The Chicago AIA's statement, written by senior board members, was originally published on their website on November 14. Its complete form is as follows:

To members of AIA Chicago:

The AIA Chicago Board of Directors wants to assure our members that we do not support the recent statement made by national AIA on November 10, which prematurely expressed the support of AIA’s 89,000 members for an unarticulated infrastructure agenda made by the incoming presidential administration. Further, we are committed to working with all of you to deepen our diversity and inclusion initiatives, and to continue the discussions that affect positive change on issues that are critical to...

Yale School of Architecture students respond to AIA's comments in support of President-elect Donald Trump

2016-11-14T18:37:00-05:00

On November 9, 2016, the American Institute of Architects resigned itself to a cowardly position of economic and political subservience with its support of President-elect Trump. The AIA’s refusal to take a principled stance on an incoming administration that galvanized support through hatred, divisiveness, and fear constitutes an abdication of its self-proclaimed responsibility to speak on behalf of architects and a contradiction of its own stated beliefs.

We, the undersigned students of the Yale School of Architecture, unequivocally denounce the AIA’s endorsement of the new status quo. For too long, our profession has been complicit in giving form to landscapes of inequality and discrimination, and has itself been plagued by a history of racial and gender inequity. The AIA’s immediate and unquestioning pandering to the Trump administration threatens a continuation of our troubled past and demonstrates a willingness to pursue financial gain at the expense of our values. With the pro...

"All Work and All Play": Archinect Sessions Episode #16 with Jimenez Lai and Robert Ivy, CEO of the AIA

2015-02-12T19:40:00-05:00

What do Robert Ivy FAIA, EVP/CEO of the AIA, and Jimenez Lai, of Bureau Spectacular, have in common? Other than they're both architects, not so much! What better way to celebrate a profession at the crossroads than featuring interviews with both in our latest podcast episode.

Paul, Amelia, Donna and Ken spoke with Ivy about the AIA's newly launched "I Look Up" (#ilookup) public awareness campaign for architects, and Jimenez Lai joined us in studio to discuss his latest Graham Foundation-funded collaboration, Treatise: Why Write Alone?.

Treatise is currently being exhibited at the Graham Foundation in Chicago through March 28, and its eponymous publication launches March 18.

As always, you can send us your architectural legal issues, comments or questions via twitter #archinectsessions, email or call us at (213) 784-7421.

Listen to episode sixteen of Archinect Sessions, "All Work and All Play" with Jimenez Lai and Robert Ivy FAIA, EVP/CEO of the AIA:

iTunes: Click here to listen, and...

Robert Ivy, CEO AIA on the future in “supplemental services

2011-06-22T18:20:00-04:00

architects are already expanding their offerings beyond traditional building design to “supplemental services.” Eventually, architects may even become “creative consultants” to a wide range of industries, particularly given the drop-off in building work with the economic downturn. Business schools around the country are now promoting the benefits of “design-thinking” and architects may be uniquely positioned to “intuit, analyze, and solve problems in different ways.”

At a recent meeting of the D.C. Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Robert Ivy, it's new CEO, spoke about the future of the architecture. Ivy believes that the growth of urbanism, integration of sustainability and the application of architectural thinking to a variety of spatial concerns are all signs of a healthy long term trajectory for the profession.