American Institute of Architects

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"Octagon House", built in 1799; Architect: William Thornton .

The American Institute of Architects ( AIA ; German  American Institute of Architects ) is a professional association of architects in the United States that has existed since 1857 . The AIA has been headquartered in the historic Octagon House in Washington, DC since 1898. In addition to running numerous programs and activities to promote the profession, the AIA regularly awards honors and awards, including the AIA Gold Medal and the Architecture Firm Award .

Today the association has around 80,000 members from over 300 country and local areas, so-called "Components", in the United States, the United Kingdom , Europe and Hong Kong . Membership in the AIA is divided into appropriate categories. For example, only architects who are legally authorized to work as architects in the United States can use the designation AIA - Licensed Architect . Otherwise they have the designation Fellow of the AIA (FAIA; German: member of the AIA ). In addition, there are license applicants as associate members and members of other professional groups ( civil engineers , etc.) as Allied Members . The latter can choose between purely local or national membership in the AIA. Since there is no national category for students in the AIA, many of them join the local "Components" of the AIA or the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS).

history

At the beginning of the 19th century in the United States there was no need for any special school or academic training to be an architect. Due to the lack of legal regulations, it was mostly carpenters, bricklayers, stonemasons and similar craftsmen who worked as architects.

On February 23, 1857, 13 architects met in New York City and founded the institute under what was then the New York Society of Architects . Richard Upjohn was elected the association's first president by the other founding members. In 1867 it was included in the statutes that the association's purpose was to unite the architects of the continent and their achievements, and to promote art, science and professional craftsmanship. In 1889, the short-lived Western Association of Architects (WAA) from Chicago was incorporated into the AIA.

Since a far higher number of public works were awarded by the federal government in Washington, DC , the institute relocated to the Octagon House there in 1898 , which ensured support from funds of the United States Congress . The first manager at Octagon House was Glenn Brown . The first female AIA member was Louise Blanchard Bethune .

Recipient of the AIA gold medal

(p = posthumous ; Hon. FAIA = honorary member of the AIA)

Web links

Coordinates: 38 ° 53 ′ 45.9 ″  N , 77 ° 2 ′ 30 ″  W.