The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, student-run organization that offers programs, information, and resources critical to architectural education. It primarily serves about 25,000 architecture students enrolled in accredited U.S. collegiate programs each year, with some international programs.
The organization represents one of five collateral organizations that govern the discipline of architecture in the United States, including allied organizations: the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), and the American Institute of Architects (AIA). These governing bodies reflect the trajectory an architect will take during their career, from initial education, through licensure, and into practice.
AIAS publishes Crit, Journal of the AIAS (short for critique) and hosts events for students and professionals throughout the year, including FORUM, Grassroots Leadership Conference, and Quad Conferences. The organization was founded in 1956; it was originally called the National Architectural Student Association (NASA). Later the name changed to the Association of Student Chapters, AIA (ASC/AIA), before using its present-day name.
History
NASA In 1956, architecture students established the National Architectural Student Association (NASA). Chapters were established at all of the schools of architecture and a regional governance network was formed by the students at the first Student Forum.The first Forum was held in November 1955 at the Octagon House in Washington, D.C., and the student delegates elected leaders to represent them at this gathering. At this time, the Student Forum is an annual event strictly for governance purposes (just for the student chapter representatives). NASA also hosts the first annual convention in November 1958, usually held in conjunction with the AIA Convention. In 1960, the meeting minutes of the student board of directors report the exploration of separating the activities so that "business would transpire...at the Forum, thus permitting the Convention time to be devoted more to the topic of architecture itself." Today, the AIAS still organizes Forum and it is the primary annual meeting of the organization. The students also elected Jim Barry (Rice Institute) as the first national president.
Jim Barry served as a part-time volunteer from his school with funding provided by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and Washington-area architectural programs. During his term, NASA published the first issue of LINE magazine, had representatives involved on AIA committees and hosted programs at the Octagon. The members of NASA also attended AIA Convention in Los Angeles, with special programs designed specifically for students.
ASC/AIA In 1958 the student organization was renamed the Association of Student Chapters, AIA (ASC/AIA), with the goal of bridging members to the AIA upon graduation. However, staff and leaders of the AIA were concerned about a separate student organization, believing it would conflict with the objective of encouraging students to maintain their memberships with both organizations. At the 1960 student convention at the University of California at Berkeley, the AIA board of directors proposed to abolish the ASC/AIA. John Richards, FAIA, then president of the AIA, stated, "[the student affiliations] of the past had not been as successful as had been hoped, and that it was feeling of the staff of the AIA that student organization structure was in need of improvement."
Students leaders lobbied to convince the AIA board of directors that the ASC/AIA chapter system was the foundation for the AIA and for the promotion of future generations entering architecture. Student president Charles Jones (University of Arizona) gave a speech to the General Session of the AIA on April 22, 1960, stating, "The students have no desire to make this organization so large that it becomes completely out of hand." However, the organization did grow. At the 1970 AIA Convention, student president Taylor Culver (Howard University) led a student revolt. Minutes of the meeting reported that Culver and his fellow students took over the podium held by the AIA president.
In 1972, two-term student president Fay D'Avignon (Boston Architectural Center) was elected the first female president of the organization, becoming the first ASC/AIA officer to take full-time responsibilities in Washington, DC. With increasing membership, the vice president was also found to be needed on a full-time basis in Washington, DC. In 1975 president Ella Hall (North Carolina State University) and vice president Steve Biegel (Syracuse University) became the first ASC/AIA national officers to work full-time in the National Office in Washington, D.C. The term for the national officers also changed to the July–June schedule, parallel to academic schedules.
1976–1977 team Jerry Compton (SCI-ARC) and Robert Rosenfeld (University of California, Berkeley) solidified the ASC/AIA growing operations budget, held the first design competition, published the magazine Telesis, and established student representation on the IDP Coordinating Committee. Rosenfeld named Crit, which launched the rebranded publication the following year.
The following year, Rosenfeld continued on as vice president, with Charles Guerin (University of Houston) as president. The two officers initiated the first ASC/AIA Chapter Honor Award and published the first issues of Crit.
In 1978 John Jeronimo (University of Miami) and Mary Beth Permar (Clemson University and the University of Illinois) collaborated on the continuation and improvement of Crit from a magazine format to a true architectural journal. Additionally, they increased the size of the board of directors to include the FORUM Chair and Crit Editor. The overall operating budget of the ASC/AIA passed the $100,000 mark for the first time. Jeronimo and Permar held the largest national design competition to date, the first McDonald's Competition, which included over 650 entries (only surpassed in number of entries by the Vietnam Memorial Design Competition).
AIAS, Inc.
The growth of the organization began to outweigh the abilities and skills of the national officers alone. In 1982, under the leadership of president William Plimpton (University of California, Berkeley) and Vice president Nora Klebow (Kent State University), the ASC/AIA formally separated from the AIA and incorporated as an independent not-for-profit corporation. To better prepare for the future, a special "Blue Ribbon" Task Force was formed in June 1982 to study the structure and operations of the organization.
In 1984, after a thorough self-examination, president Tom Fowler (New York Institute of Technology-Old Westbury) accepted the recommendations of the Special Task Force to review the structure of the organization. This report further suggested renaming the organization "The American Institute of Architecture Students" (AIAS).The AIAS, Inc., and receiving status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1983. The organization hired the first full-time Executive Director, Carl D. Costello. That year, the organization is officially incorporated in Washington, D.C., as The American Institute of Architecture Students, Inc.
1985 president Scott Norberg (University of Nebraska–Lincoln) and vice president Whitney Powers (Mississippi State University) examined issues critical to the architectural scene. During the Kent State Memorial Competition, Ian Taberner's award-winning proposal is rejected by the University "because he was not a citizen of the United States, as required by the design competition". This sparked debate within the AIAS and reached the annual meeting; over 1,100 students attended the 1985 AIAS FORUM in New York.
Growth and prosperity The first meeting of AIAS Grassroots Leadership Conference was organized during the summer of 1985. The same year, the AIAS held three national design competitions. In Norberg's second term, alongside vice president Lee W. Waldrep, Ph.D. (Arizona State University), the number of competitions increased to four; the AIAS initiated the Search for Shelter Program to address the growing issue of homelessness in America; and the AIAS contributed to the AIA Education Initiative by establishing the AIAS Outstanding Practitioner in Education award.
In 1988–1989, the AIAS accepted its first chapter outside the United States when the Council of Presidents voted to accept Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Toronto, Ontario.Chapters begin to organize in other countries and territories like France, Kuwait, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United Arab Emirates. AIAS further worked on housing for the homeless with active participation in the Habitat for Humanity program. The "Partners in Education" program was also founded; the sponsorship-based program provided individuals and corporations the opportunity to support students of architecture and the AIAS.
In 1989–1990 the AIAS moved into new office space, increased the full-time national office positions to five, and made a major investment in desktop publishing software, which was very expensive at the time. The dues structure for local chapters was also revised to reflect a commitment to the organization by individual member dues, rather that a lump-sum from the entire school. One substantial outgrowth of this revision was the establishment of an active database which allowed individual mailings of pertinent information to each AIAS member. The AIAS initiated also a mandate for the inclusion of a standardized NAAB four-year degree language in college catalogs, adopted by the five collateral architecture organizations the following year.
The 1990–1991 term saw the AIAS experience grow with the addition of thirteen chapters, which pushed membership to a then record 156 chapters. An additional full-time staff person is hired to coordinate AIAS competitions. The year's agenda was largely an affirmation of student commitment to environmental issues. The Environmental Action Committee (EAC) was established to gather information pertaining to environmental issues and their relationship to the design process, and disseminate this information to fellow students and educators. Two significant position papers on architectural education deficiencies and degree nomenclature were also presented to the collateral organizations by AIAS leaders during this term.
The 1991–1992 officers, president Lynn N. Simon (University of Washington) and vice president Kevin P. McGillycuddy (Washington-Alexandria Center), emphasized a devotion to the quality of career counseling and the internship experience. Five national directors focused their endeavors on minority programs, affordable housing, women in architecture, community involvement and career options. The Five Presidents Declaration (five architecture collateral presidents) proposed a single designation for the professional degree in architecture, sparking discussion and debate among students, educators and practitioners.
At the beginning of the 1992–1993 the term, the office produced a new handbook for each chapter to use on the local level, while the 1992–1993 national directors produced informational documents on career options and environmentally safe resources for the studio, as well as a video on women in architecture. A new system of regional coordinators was also set into place, the AIAS Long Range Plan was developed into a finished document, and the Sustainability Declaration was finalized for adoption by the four other collateral organizations.