The AIA National Convention: Rising Interest in Sustainable Design

The American Institute of Architects convention in Boston this past June was the setting for a changing of the guard in the American architectural establishment. The Institute’s first woman president took the reins, the Committee on the Environment became its largest and fastest growing committee, and the first installments of the Environmental Resource Guide, a publication three years in the making, became available.

Thanks to the support of Susan Maxman, the new AIA President, and the tireless work of the Committee on the Environment’s Steering Group, environmental concerns are getting more attention. Local “component level” AIA chapters in places like Kansas City, Missouri, and Casper, Wyoming, have organized Environment Committee offices and sponsored some interesting projects (look for reviews in future EBN issues). A large symposium on Indoor Air Quality issues is being planned for November 12-13 in Los Angeles, and next year’s national convention will feature the environment, front and center.

Don’t be fooled, however. The AIA as a whole is a very large and traditionally conservative organization, and many of its members persist in seeing this newfound concern about environmental issues as a temporary distraction from the business of designing buildings. The most popular exhibit at the convention trade show was by BMW of North America, featuring the convention’s grand prize: a gas-guzzling sports sedan. Many of the more radical architects spent the weekend a few blocks away at a parallel meeting, that of Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility. The AIA Committee on the Environment’s leadership is hoping that the AIA’s new movement in the direction of environmental awareness will be enough to draw these more radical elements back into the fold.

The AIA Committee on Design was reportedly responsive to the suggestions by Committee on the Environment Steering Group members and Ms. Maxman that they incorporate environmental considerations into their selection process. If they succeed in making environmental sustainability a real factor in their Honor Awards, it will force the AIA membership as a whole to take notice. Architects have a lot of power in the arenas of building design and material choices, and how they choose to respond to the world’s environmental predicament can have a significant impact on the health of planet Earth. Hopefully, more and more architects are coming around to see their responsibility to the planet. Just what role the AIA as an organization will play in leading this effort remains to be seen.