The American Institute of Architects (AIA) together along with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) has published a new supplement to its Guides for Equitable Practice in order to reflect a renewed focus of university education and institutions.

The supplement, titled Equity in Architectural Education, is intended to provide teachers and administrators with scenarios, actions, and prompts that “inspire discussions about creating welcoming environments to attract and retain those currently underrepresented in academia and in the profession.”

It is also useful to the majority of practitioners whose firms employ student interns and recent graduates, prospective high school students, and others interested in entering the field as its output importantly “defines the concept of culture in architectural education” and subsequent impacts in the working world. 

According to the AIA: “Each chapter includes real-world-derived best practices, relevant research, and other tools to help you address a variety of employment and personnel issues about equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

The guides were originally published in November 2018 in response to the growing need for change in the realms of academia and professional practice. The new supplement, therefore, looks to break into the dynamic created by the design school-to-office pipeline, whereby “long-standing traditions, viewpoints, and biases in academia” remain strong. In the end, helping to increase and enhance the ability of schools to create a “more welcoming culture” and accelerate progress in each sector, which creates a more just and equitable environment for everyone (future or current) involved in the study and maintenance of the built environment across the country. 

(For full access to the AIA's new supplement, click here.)