From the nitty gritty of starting a business to the institutional upsets at the AIA, this year of professional practice issues took some big hits. The following stories showcase the work atmosphere for architects in the U.S. during 2016.

Scott Frank, Senior Director of Media Relations for the AIA, resigns following the AIA's statement of support for President-elect Trump

Frank's resignation came after the AIA's controversial endorsement of president-elect Donald Trump caused an uproar within its membership, prompting the organization to issue multiple apologies. Allegedly Scott resigned due to the “AIA’s severe mishandling of the situation” and “total lack of accountability," when it made such a statement without member consultation and against his better judgment. The practical effects of the controversy and its fallout have yet to be fully understood, but it certainly fueled feelings of distrust and frustration for many members, prompting some to resign.

Cheezburger founder/CEO joins YCombinator's 'New Cities' project

Ben Huh will work with YC as an "Explorer" as they develop their model for "an open, repeatable system for rapid cityforming that maximize human potential." That Huh has zero experience in this field is, in his understanding, not a deficit, although many commenters begged to differ. In the vein of Silicon Valley trying to "fix" or "disrupt" everything, the approach to cities struck many urbanists and architects as problematic and simplistic at best, while also striking alarming chords with parametricist ideologies espoused by architects like Patrik Schumacher.

This simple trick makes drawing with two-point perspective a breeze

Don't let the clickbaity headline fool you! Instagram user @architectdrw provides a simple and easy to rig up guide for two-point perspective drawing. Try it out and see for yourself.

Architecture for Humanity is being sued for $3M for mismanaging funds

After the non-profit ceased operations in 2015 and filed for bankruptcy, these allegations might lead to how things got so bad in the first place. For one of the most visible architecture non-profits, it also was a sad blow to the many volunteers who had given their time and skills to the organization.

Architects are the 5th most likely profession to commit suicide

The study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranked professions in order of suicide rates, with farming, fishing and forestry taking the top spot. This stark and depressing statistic provoked larger discussions of mental health in the profession, and the need to address a caustic working culture that perpetuates a cycle of psychological abuse.

Architecture for Humanity spin-off, Chapter Network, appoints Garrett Jacobs exec director

After AFH went belly-up in 2015, its many volunteers and networked professionals didn't want to be left hanging. After regrouping as the Open Architecture Collaborative (originally called the Chapter Network), Garrett Jacobs was appointed to lead the charge and keep the ideals of AFH alive. 

More women joined the profession in 2015 than ever before

While issues of gender equity still persist, 2015 did see an all-time high in the number of practitioners working towards licensure, with nearly 40% of them women, continuing a steady climb since 2000. The statistic is an encouraging move towards patching the "leaky pipeline" between architecture education (which has a much higher proportion of women) and practice.

How will President Obama's move to require overtime pay change architecture?

The law requires employers to pay time-and-a-half overtime to salaried employees making less than $47,476 a year – chances are, that applies to many architectural interns. With the heavy reliance on unpaid overtime work to keep many firms running, the new requirement stands to drastically impact business structures and hiring practices throughout the U.S.

Looking to start your own practice? Keep this in mind...

This collection of professional advice from Assemble, FAT, Stereotank, WAI Architecture Think Tank, studiogaas and others takes it as a premise that the architecture is changing, and young practitioners straight out of school may be hungrier to start their own thing than to work at that big-name firm. This was one of our most popular professional practice stories of the year, and for good reason – even as the market picks up, the definition of architectural practice continues to expand and morph, encouraging a diversity of practices to bloom.

Check out more year-end wrap-ups here.