Raising Our Young

There has never been a time in human history when strategic foresight was more needed. The American Institute of Architecture Students delivered a good dose of it last week. In fact, the AIAS Forum in Minneapolis was an exemplar in several ways.

The Twin Cities’ below-zero temperatures and deep snow did not cool the Forum participants’ expectations that this would be a relevant and dynamic session. More than 500 students participated, 20 of whom were vying for elected office in AIAS.

As the students energetically took over the Hyatt Regency Hotel, there was an organized and spontaneous discussion on meaningful change and overcoming difficulties. Furthermore, there was palpable passion for the future brimming with ingenuity. The emerging environmental leadership was at once sophisticated and convincing.

There is a saying that you can tell a lot about the future of a profession by studying how well that profession is taking care of its young. This meeting is one positive indication. The AIAS experience included leaders of the profession such as the presidents of AIA, ACSA, and NAAB as well as the president-elect of NCARB. All were in attendance providing programs, speaking, coaching, and listening. They were actively engaged in table-top exercises, too. And none of them seemd the least bit inconvenienced by the timing of this event over the holidays. (The meetings began Dec. 29 and ran through Jan. 1.)  They did not dominate but were jump-starting conversations on future opportunities.

George Miller, the president of AIA and a partner at Pei Cobb & Freed architects in New York, illustrated how students can transcend the current economy and get involved in the profession with examples. His was an upbeat assessment of the future of the profession. NCARB President-Elect Ken Naylor pointed out how Intern Development Program credits can be earned under newly revamped NCARB rules. (The new “Emerging Professional Companion” outlines how AIA Learning Units equal one qualifying IDP hour and how in one year online activities and exercises can be used to gain 225 training units — nearly a year’s worth of IDP experience, very helpful for those interns who are currently unemployed.)  NCARB is showing its responsiveness in this economy, and this is a good thing.

The student leaders at AIAS Forum are an impressive lot. Keeping them engaged in the profession is one of the most strategic actions that AIA, NCARB, and the rest of the profession can do. And this is real foresight for the future.