The Educator/Practitioner Network (EPN) has been charged with preparing the AIA position paper to inform the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) Accreditation Review Conference in 2008. This conference—which will occur once every five years—is the primary venue for reviewing and proposing revisions to the conditions for accrediting architecture schools.*

The EPN will integrate and prioritize the ideas and concerns we receive from AIA members in an AIA position paper. Issues raised by the other collateral organizations (the American Institute of Architecture Students, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and the NAAB; representing the viewpoints of students, educators, licensing authorities and the accreditation board, respectively) will also be considered at the conference.

We have many opportunities over the next year to interact with representatives from various constituencies to inform our position on accreditation criteria as it relates to the profession and the education of young architects.

At the recently concluded Knowledge Leadership Assembly in Phoenix, the topics of sustainability and integrated practice had first priority in shaping the future of architecture practice. Should this priority for practice influence the criteria for education in the future?

Upcoming opportunities to discuss these and other relevant influences on architecture curriculum include the ACSA administrators conference in November, AIA Grassroots conference in February, the ACSA annual meeting in March, and the Cranbrook 2007 conference on integrated practice in June. The EPN will have a special preparatory meeting in the fall 2007 before drafting the position paper. The paper, following approval by the AIA Board of Directors, will be submitted to the NAAB by June 2008.

We look forward to meeting with many of you over the coming months on this most important charge for the EPN.


Ann R. Chaintreuil, FAIA
2006 EPN Chair

*As a result of discussions at the last accreditation review conference in 2003, the schedule for reviewing the conditions for accreditation of architecture programs has changed from a three-year cycle to a five-year cycle. Revisions to the procedures for accreditation may occur on an annual basis. For a summary of significant changes made to the NAAB Conditions for Accreditation after the 2003 Validation Conference, please visit the NAAB Web site., www.naab.org

Submissions due Tuesday, January 16

The AIA is accepting submissions for the 18th AIA Education Honor Awards program, a program of the EPN.

The AIA Education Honor Awards recognize the achievements of outstanding teaching faculty and promote models of excellence. (Click here to read more about award-winning courses from 2004–2006 and see a chronology of all previous winners in the 17-year history of the program.)

The EPN invites submissions that will promote models of excellence for classroom, studio, community work, and/or courses offered in various educational settings; contribute to the advancement of architecture education; and have the potential to benefit or change practice. For submission guidelines, please go to the 2007 AIA Education Honor Awards Web page.

Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA, who is the 2006 chair of the EPN, will serve as jury chair. She will be joined by Catherine McNeel, vice president of the American Institute of Architecture Students; Anthony Costello, FAIA, director, Ohio Valley, AIA Board of Directors; Michael Rotondi, principal of Roto Architects and professor at Southern California Institute of Architecture; and Michaele Pride, AIA, NOMA, associate professor and director of the University of Cincinnati School of Architecture and Interior Design.

Awards will be announced at the ACSA annual meeting in March 2007 and in various publications. Recipients will be invited to the AIA national convention to receive their awards and to present their work. 


2006 award recipient Luis Eduardo Boza (right), an assistant professor at the Catholic University of America, is shown with Randall Ott, the university’s dean of the School of Architecture and Planning.

AIA Grant Program Provides Scholarship Funds for Architecture Students

In its initial year, the 2006 AIA Component Grant Program has had much success. The new program, developed by AIA staff and members of the Board of Directors, provides matching grants for qualifying AIA component scholarship programs. The grants support local and state components and their affiliated foundations in their efforts to provide scholarships for students in NAAB-accredited schools of architecture. Grant proposals were received from 70 AIA components and the program awarded $138,650. As a result of the program, the amount awarded to students will be $277,300.

The 2007 program will be expanded to allow more components to participate in the program. Components who currently offer scholarships for less than $1,000 will be able to submit a proposal for matching funds, with the expectation that they will ultimately offer larger awards. Revised guidelines and application for the program will be available in early November.

Inquiries may be directed to Mary Felber, director of the AIA/AAF Scholarship Programs, mfelber@aia.org.


Practice Academy Pilot Programs Selected

Boston Architectural College, Iowa State University, and the University of Cincinnati received grants to develop Practice Academy pilot programs. The Practice Academy is a new collaboration among the AIA, the architecture academy, and architecture firms to provide a framework for a rigorous internship for students and architecture interns. The intent of the Practice Academy is to stimulate life-long learning for architecture professionals—beginning with interns—through the partnering of academics and practitioners. These programs were selected by an advisory committee composed of representatives from the AIA, NCARB, and ACSA. In addition to selecting the pilot programs, the advisory committee is responsible for reviewing the progress of the academy programs and assisting in the development and review of Practice Academy Guidelines. For more information about the program, visit the Practice Academy Web site.

AIA Contract Documents Software Student Edition Distributed to Schools of Architecture

In late August 2006, the AIA began distributing the AIA Contract Documents software, Student Edition, to 19 participating schools of architecture, including Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, University of Oklahoma, Yale University, University of Illinois at Chicago, Florida A&M University, and Tulane University.

This free resource, available for use in professional practice courses at accredited schools of architecture, allows educators to provide their students with unlimited access to more than 100 design and construction agreements and forms. Students will then be able to work with the very same industry standard documents used by the overwhelming majority of design and construction firms.

Educators interested in learning more about the Student Edition of AIA Contract Documents software or participating in the program should send an e-mail inquiry to software@aia.org.

Time Matters: Exploring Preservation in Architectural Education

The 2006 ACSA/AIA Teachers Seminar held at Cranbrook Academy of Art in June examined the relationship between architecture and time. More than 50 academics and professionals participated in lectures and discussions on how preservation values inform design and how design motivates decisions about the historic built environment. Designed to support the AIA Historic Resources Committee’s Preservation Education Initiative, participants developed syllabi to be used in design studios at the senior or first-year graduate level and that will serve as the basis for the 2006–2007 ACSA Historical Preservation Student Design Competition. The competition will promote the NAAB’s Student Performance Criteria that require an understanding of context, history, and preservation legislation as parameters for design.



The full article, Time Matters: A Reflection on the ACSA/AIA Teachers Seminar at Cranbrook, by David Woodcock, FAIA, is available here.



AIA COTE Ecological Literacy in Architecture Education Report Available Online

The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) recently completed a report on ecological literacy in architecture education, Ecology and Design. Funded by a grant from the Tides Foundation’s Kendeda Sustainability Fund, AIA COTE’s aim is to incorporate the principles of sustainability into architecture education. The goal of this project is to “assess the state of ecological literacy and the teaching of sustainable design in architecture education.”

In the report compiled by Kira Gould, Assoc. AIA, and Lance Hosey, AIA, LEEP AP, the first chapter provides background on integrating sustainability topics into the architecture curriculum. Chapter two includes a conversation with David Orr, an environmental educator whose ideas provide the foundation of the report. Chapter three details some primary examples of architecture departments and laboratories, among others, that are leaders in promoting sustainable design, and chapter four summarizes the winners of a call for coursework.

Chapter five addresses COTE’s proposal for the AIA COTE Center for Ecological Design which would focus on architecture education, administering activities “aimed at advancing ecological literacy and the study of sustainability as an integral part of the study and practice of architecture.” Immediate priorities of the center would be creating an interdisciplinary foundations course and crafting various partnerships. The center would produce projects, research, and curriculum support to bring ecological literacy to architecture education.

Appendices to the report include reference sources, sample reading lists from submitted coursework, measures of sustainable design, COTE Green Project award recipients, and a Web survey of courses on sustainable design or ecological issues at architecture schools.

For the full report, see www.aia.org/cote_tides. 


NAAB Board Lifts Moratorium on BArch

At its July board meeting, the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) voted to lift the moratorium on the NAAB-accredited bachelor of architecture degree. The moratorium, which had been in place since October 2000, meant that no new BArch programs would be considered for accreditation. It did not mean that existing programs would be eliminated. However, for a variety of reasons some programs have been or are in the process of transforming their BArch into MArch programs since the moratorium went into effect.

The debate concerning the BArch degree ranged from affordability and access to the profession on the one hand to favoring a graduate-level degree as the first professional degree on the other. Regarding the board decision to lift the moratorium, NAAB Board President C. William Bevins, FAIA, said that “while somewhat unexpected, the board acted in a responsible manner on this long contested issue.”

In a letter urging the NAAB to lift the moratorium, AIA President Kate Schwennsen, FAIA, emphasized that “At a time and in a profession needing increased participation of more diverse members, the bachelor of architecture degree provides a very important path to practice that is critically important to maintain. It is the most affordable path, the most seamless path, and the most accessible path.” For more about the AIA position on NAAB-accredited degrees and related issues, please see the AIA Board of Directors Directory of Public Policies and Position Statements.

With the new doctor of architecture degree, NAAB now accredits three professional degrees. Approximately 115 institutions in the United States offer one or more of these degrees. The NAAB currently lists 86 MArch and 67 BArch degree programs. See www.naab.org for the complete list.

EPN Committee Appointments

Thank you to all who expressed an interest in joining the EPN Advisory Committee. The committee was impressed with the level of interest and the excellent qualifications of the applicants. Several names will be forwarded to the 2007 AIA president, who will select one individual for appointment to the committee. Notification will be sent to all applicants on the status of their application in October. Candidates for the 2007 appointment will be notified of the appointment in January.

The EPN Advisory Committee is dedicated to facilitating partnerships between educators and practitioners for the professional preparation of architects. For more information, visit www.aia.org/epn.