Designing Tomorrow’s Architect: The 2005 Internship Conference concluded on September 25th with leaders from each of the five U.S. architectural collateral organizations speaking in a formal setting about what their organization would do to advance the ideas and concepts brought forward and discussed throughout the three-day conference at The Charline McCombs Empire Theater and La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Texas.

The collateral organizations include The American Institute of Architects (AIA), the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). These groups are responsible for regulation and standards in the architecture profession and each sent representatives to participate in the conference with various stakeholder groups and emerging professionals, who were selected via an essay competition. Emerging professionals include students, recent graduates of architecture school, architectural interns, and recently licensed architects.

Though challenged by Hurricane Rita, the conference advisory committee, co-chaired by Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA, and Ana Guerra, Assoc. AIA, crafted a rich agenda with provocative speakers. The conference was led by Ken Schwartz, FAIA, who guided the discussion. The objective of the 2005 Internship Conference was to develop solutions for improving architectural internship.

In April 1999, seventy representatives of the five U.S. collateral architectural organizations, young architects, interns and architectural professionals from Canada and Mexico met to discuss the current state of the transition of architectural education to practice. The Internship Summit was organized as an outgrowth of the Carnegie Foundation report Building Community: A New Future for Architecture Education and Practice by the Boyer Collateral Internship Task Force.

The second Internship Summit was held in October 2002 and focused on implementation of specific recommendations from the 1999 Summit. Approximately fifty interns, educators, seasoned practitioners, and other stakeholders participated in the discussions.

“It was important that the participants understand what was covered at the 1999 and 2002 Internship Summits so that their work could build on those gatherings. Indeed, proposals from the groups took past actions into consideration, but were forward thinking and solution-based, providing a clear direction for the collaterals to take forward both collectively and individually,” stated Ana Guerra, Assoc. AIA, AIA co-chair of the 2005 Internship Conference

Major Outcomes
Throughout the weekend, the 2005 Internship Conference participants worked together in diverse groups to generate proposals for change. In the final session, proposals were synthesized into four areas: Recommendations to the Collaterals, Action Proposals, Challenges, and Visions.

Recommendations to Collaterals - Proposals included adopting a dynamic internship model that allows for three varying paths to licensure: traditional (seat-time), competency-based, and individual (self-directed) plans. Other recommendations were to provide training for mentors and to offer a provisional license earlier in the registration process (similar to the medical model).

Action Proposals - These included charges for AIA Government Advocacy to seek alternative funding sources for internship support in the federal government, for the AIA and ACSA to develop practice academy and teaching firm models, and for NCARB to host to an intern validation conference in 2007.

Challenges - It was noted that competency-based internship extends beyond the current model of Intern Development Program (IDP), which is based on prescriptive number of hours. Others voiced concerns about lack of respect for architectural interns as compared to the medical model. There was concern about differing definitions of what success might look like following the conference. It was also noted that the conference participants did not define any intern responsibilities for change.

Visions - They included a potential redefinition of the title “architect” and the job description defined by Practice Acts, raising the bar for internships to improve respect, trust, and accountability for interns, and re-definition of the term “welfare” in “health, safety, and welfare” resulting in an expansion of architect influence on the community.

Emerging Professionals Speak Out
The emerging professionals in attendance at the conference met informally during the weekend to outline specific recommendations for action on internship. Along with the recommendations, the group stressed the importance of implementation of these items. Their diverse thoughts were synthesized into seven concise statements which resonated with many other conference attendees, they include:

1. Interns should be able to take the exam upon graduation and concurrent with internship.
2. Expand IDP to allow alternative paths for obtaining professional experience.
3. NCARB should allow mentors to be the key figure in the IDP Process (not only the direct supervisor).
4. Form an advocacy group focused on the issue of the Architect Registration Examination (ARE).
5. Mentorship should be a requirement for completion of IDP.
6. A percentage of continuing education learning units should be required to be obtained through mentoring interns.
7. Validate the advancement of IDP - A Validation Conference must be held and state boards must be a part of that conference.

Response from Collateral Organizations
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
NCARB past President Frank Guillot, AIA, said, “The emerging professionals were the stars. [They] drove the conference and [their] opinions, thoughts, and creativity were critical to the outcome.” NCARB plans to request a rigorous, objective, and empirical analysis of the impacts on health, safety, and welfare stemming from the proposed concurrent internship and ARE model to report on concerns for more effective and responsive supervision and mentoring, and to continue to monitor the competency-based internship model developed by California.

National Architectural Accrediting Board
NAAB board member Robert Campbell, FAIA, stated, “I do hope that the summary and priorities of this conference move forward very quickly so Ron [Battaglia] and Andy [Prescott, 2005-2006 co-chairs of Intern Development Program Coordinating Committee (IDPCC)] can have some definitive direction to take to the IDPCC. I think it’s very important to keep this momentum going.” NAAB offers its services to act as a resource for Practice Academy and Teaching Firm Accreditation.

American Institute of Architecture Students
AIAS president Eric Zaddock noted, “We learned that there might be a better way for strengthening and encouraging emerging professionals to build their own communities. We believe we have a unique position to help in quite a few different ways.” AIAS plans to support outcomes of the conference by disseminating information to its membership through Web sites such as ArchCareers.org and through IDP and internship seminars. Further, AIAS will revisit its public policies, particularly those that support issues such as allowing IDP credit for professional experience gained at the collegiate level, appropriate titling for graduates of accredited architecture schools, and offering the ARE upon graduation.

The American Institute of Architects
AIA president Doug Steidl, FAIA, commented, “We believe this conference is one step on a path that started perhaps more than a century ago and will move and continue into the future for as long as the profession exists.” The AIA will advocate for its recent position on ARE Timing (toward the planned vote by state boards at the 2007 Annual Meeting of NCARB); will lead the development of Practice Academy and Teaching Firm models; and will call for another conference to continue this discussion in a formal manner.

Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
ACSA President Stephen Schreiber, FAIA, said, “It was a thrill to participate in this weekend and we look forward to helping this very important part of the development of a professional architect become a better experience for many.” ACSA is considering taking a position for NCARB to make ARE pass rates public by school, supporting the development of certified teaching firms and accredited practice academies, and promoting ladder mentorship which begins with students in schools being mentored by those recently graduated.

“In order to be successful, we must not only expect action from the collaterals, but we must take it upon ourselves to return to our schools and workplaces and be a catalyst for change. Without grassroots support and leadership on these issues, change will be slower and more difficult. We all have a responsibility to walk the walk that has been outlined during this weekend – ‘Designing Tomorrow’s Architect’,” encouraged Ann Chaintreuil, FAIA, NCARB co-chair.

Moving Forward
The conference Web site, www.designingtomorrowsarchitect.org, will be updated regularly with new information, including proceedings following the conference. In addition, the ACSA, AIAS, and AIA have committed to hosting follow up workshops on selected topics at their upcoming annual meetings in 2005 and 2006.

About IDP
The Intern Development Program (IDP) started in 1976 as a pilot program developed by the AIA and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards to ensure the continued support of interns by the changing profession of architecture. IDP is a profession-wide, comprehensive training program that is focused on the professional development of architectural interns. Through a series of required activities, IDP enables participants to acquire knowledge, understanding and skills that form the core competencies related to successful architectural practice. IDP is structured in a way that effectively responds to the training needs of architectural interns by providing a wide range of resources, established progressive benchmarks, advice and mentor guidance throughout the extensive internship process

About the IDPCC
The Intern Development Program Coordinating Committee (IDPCC) is a unique cross-collateral committee, which includes three representatives from both the AIA and NCARB, and one member each from the National Associates Committee (NAC), American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), and The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) as well as one independent intern representative, a member from the Council of Architectural Component Executives (CACE) and the Society of Design Administrators (SDA). As a group, they are the IDPCC and they are charged with monitoring the program and making recommendation on IDP policy.

About the ARE
The Architect Registration Examination (ARE) assesses candidates for their knowledge, skills, and ability to provide the various services required in the practice of architecture. The ARE is the only examination prepared by NCARB and has been adopted for use by all 55 U.S. member boards and the Canadian provincial architectural associations as the registration examination required of all candidates for architectural registration.

About The American Institute of Architects
For almost 150 years, members of The American Institute of Architects have worked with each other and their communities to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings and cityscapes. AIA members have access to the right people, knowledge, and tools to create better design, and through such resources and access, they help clients and communities make their visions real. www.aia.org

About The American Institute of Architecture Students
Headquartered in Washington, DC, the American Institute of Architecture Students was established in 1956 and is an independent, nonprofit, student-run organization. The mission of the AIAS is to promote excellence in architecture education, training and practice; foster an appreciation of architecture and related disciplines; enrich communities in a spirit of collaboration; organize students; and combine their efforts to advance the art and science of architecture. The AIAS is comprised of more than 6,000 members at over 130 chapters around the world. You can learn more about the organization at www.aias.org.

About The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture
The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture is a nonprofit, membership association founded in 1912 to advance the quality of architectural education. The school membership in ACSA has grown from 10 charter members to over 250 schools in several membership categories. These include full membership for all accredited programs in the United States and government-sanctioned schools in Canada, candidate membership for schools seeking accreditation, and affiliate membership for schools for two-year and international programs. Through these schools, over 4,000 architecture faculties are represented. In addition, over 500 supporting members composed of architecture firms, product associations and individuals add to the breadth of interest and support of ACSA goals.

About The National Architectural Accrediting Board
The NAAB's primary mission is to assist programs in fulfilling the broad requirements of the profession of architecture and to encourage the development of practices suited to the particular circumstances of each individual program. The NAAB affirms the collateral organizations' goals to advance architecture education, provide the best possible education within schools of architecture, promote excellence in architecture education, and encourage and improve formal architecture education. In light of these goals, it accepts responsibility for evaluating and judging the educational achievement of graduates in order to accredit professional degree programs within qualified universities and institutions nationwide.

About The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards comprises the architectural registration boards of all 50 states as well as those in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. NCARB's mission is to work together as a council of member boards to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the public and to assist member boards in carrying out their duties. To achieve these goals, the Council develops and recommends standards to be required of an applicant for architectural registration; develops and recommends standards regulating the practice of architecture; provides to member boards a process for certifying the qualifications of an architect for registration; and represents the interests of member boards before public and private agencies. With the Committee of Canadian Architectural Councils, NCARB has also established guidelines for the reciprocal registration of U.S. and Canadian architects.


###