American Institute of Architects

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is the professional organization for architects in the United States. Organized in 1857, the Institute conducts various activities and programs to support the profession and enhance its public image, including periodically awarding the AIA Gold Medal and the Architecture Firm Award.

Historical background

In the 1800s, anyone (masons, carpenters, bricklayers, etc.) could claim to be an architect; no schools of architecture or architectural licensing laws existed.

On February 23, 1857, a group of 13 architects in New York City (Richard Upjohn, H. W. Cleaveland, Henry Dudley, Leopold Eidlitz, Edward Gardiner, Richard Morris Hunt, J. Wrey Mould, Fred A. Peterson, J. M. Priest, John Welch, Joseph C. Wells, and Charles Babcock) met to form the organization (originally New York Society of Architects) with Richard Upjohn as its first president.

The mission statement was modified in 1867:

"The objects of this Institute are to unite in fellowship the Architects of this continent, and to combine their efforts so as to promote the artistic, scientific, and practical efficiency of the profession."

The short-lived Western Association of Architects (WAA) in Chicago, which championed licensure for architects, merged with the AIA in 1889.

In 1898, the Institute moved to Washington D.C. where a large number of public building projects were being commissioned by the federal government, to be paid for with funds controlled by Congress. The AIA was headquartered in the Octagon, a historic house built in 1799, and Glenn Brown became executive secretary.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts was established in 1910.