A Bold Vision for the Architectural Profession

In 2012, the National Associates Committee of the American Institute of Architects (AIA NAC) engaged in a planning exercise designed to identify the most salient and effective means to improve the Committee’s reach and effectiveness. The result was a comprehensive document—a manifesto—that catalogued the values and perceptions of an emerging generation of architects, designers, and thought leaders. The committee was intrigued by the breadth of perspective on display—from exceptional optimism about the power of architecture to paralyzing skepticism about the profession’s inability to adapt. What distinguished the effort, though, was a commitment to find solutions to the myriad challenges identified.

“The Path Ahead” attempts to leverage the expressed hope and angst into a comprehensive, “all hands on deck” advocacy agenda that has one self-serving goal: to improve the profession of architecture for those affected by it and those who will, one day, inherit it. Despite the Committee’s structural and resource limitations, it envisioned a collaborative revolution that would ensure the efficacy, profitability, sustainability, and relevance of the architecture profession for future generations. The action-oriented agenda presented in the manifesto is purposefully broad and purposefully collective. The Committee created a framework with the potential to enlist the various stakeholders and organizations with a vested interest already working for positive change. They understood that they would be unable to implement even the slightest initiative without a broad coalition of grassroots support.

Indeed, the report was unable to secure the support of the parent organization for publication, but it stands as a critical piece of thinking by a group of young leaders that have gone on to populate firms across the country and the leadership ranks of the AIA.

The full report can be seen HERE