Featured exhibit: Designing the Future
On view through December 2026
Designing the Future invites visitors to explore AIA's history of architectural innovation and architecture's role in shaping communities. Discover the net-zero design strategies behind our historic 2025 renovation and see how the campus functions as a workspace, a neighbor, and a living model of sustainable design that gives back.
Free admission!
Behind the Design walking tour
Explore the building’s key stops, inside and out, on a self-guided walking tour that reveals the net-zero strategies behind the design—and how architects are creating a climate-positive future. Along the way, visit features like native gardens, a historical willow tree, a felt wall, exterior sunshades, reused materials, and more. Each stop highlights a different part of the story, and many offer immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences!
Features marked with on this site are part of the walking tour.
Explore our other exhibits
- Material Memory: Explore a sculpture that reuses elements from the renovation, honoring the past while celebrating a sustainable, forward-looking design legacy.
- Lego building model: Experience the AIA Global Campus and the historic Octagon through a detailed, 4' x 4' LEGO model that brings the campus' defining architecture to life.
- The Octagon: Visit AIA’s first D.C. home—a National Historic Landmark—now housing the Architects Foundation and exhibits on architecture’s role in shaping society. Separate admission costs apply.
- AIA Design Shop: Browse books, gifts, décor, and apparel—each piece inspired by architecture and design.
Plan your visit
Hours: 9am–4pm, Monday–Friday
Closed Saturday & Sunday
How to visit:
- Individual visitors are welcome anytime during open hours. No reservations needed.
- Group tours available by appointment, offering a guided experience through featured exhibits and the campus.