AIA Produces Annual Report, Amends Gold Medal Criteria

DENVER — The American Institute of Architects (AIA), dedicated to developing secure and sustainable buildings, recently posted a downloadable version of the 2013 edition of the AIA Foresight Report on the company’s website.

The report outlines the impact of current architectural trends on business and growth in the marketplace. The goal of the report is to share original research pertaining to architectural practices in the present and future. It focuses on sustainable design techniques, building performance, project delivery and technological advances.

This year’s report included many interesting findings, particularly in regard to green building. There is a decidedly stronger market for green building techniques, including products and design. There is also a stronger push to employ measuring techniques to examine the effects of certain design strategies and collect performance data for buildings.

The client base for architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) companies is growing as well, as countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa grow their economies. Along with these developments, there is also an increase in the variety of services architectural firms are offering. The design services marketplace experienced a definite increase in the level of competition due to the recession.

Additionally, the AIA made a noteworthy change to the eligibility criteria for the Gold Medal award. This award, different from the Architecture Firm award, has until now been bestowed upon an individual architect who has produced a distinguished piece of architecture.

The AIA’s Board of Directors recently announced, however, that they approved a proposal suggesting the criteria be expanded to include the potential for two architects to achieve the award together. This addition is based on the notion that two architects can collaborate over time on producing an influential piece of architecture. “This is an idea that has been percolating for several years, and we feel that the decision to make this important and historic change better reflects the changing nature of architectural practice that has become increasingly more collaborative,” said AIA President Mickey Jacob, FAIA in a press statement.

The Gold Medal is the highest honor awarded by the AIA and recognizes outstanding pieces of architectural work with the potential to greatly influence architectural theory and practice. The change to the eligibility criteria for the award is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.