“All fine architectural values are human values, else not valuable.” ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
What does our AIA membership card mean to us? Sometime ago at an AIA-related dinner, a colleague suggested we play a social game. The person asked us to get out our wallets, select something from inside, and tell a story about that object. While this was not what I used at the time, I later pondered what story I could have told about my AIA membership card. What does AIA membership mean to me – and what should it mean to you?
This card reminds us of our shared heritage. In 1857, thirteen men gathered in New York to form the American Institute of Architects. These gentlemen did not have a plastic card in their wallets; they did not have a pin to wear on their lapels; they did not have an acronym following their names. What they DID have was a vision in their minds and passion in their hearts for what the profession of architecture could become … IF there was a collective body … to unite in fellowship; to promote the profession; to advance the standards of education, training, and practice; and to increasingly serve society. These core values of the AIA, we should reflect upon as we design our future, now changed forever.
This card brings a promise for the future. In France, as in many countries, architects swear a solemn oath upon becoming licensed. Roughly translated, this vow reads, “In respect to the public interest, which attaches great value to architectural quality, I swear to exercise my profession with conscience and integrity and to observe the rules contained in the law on architecture and the Code of Professional Duties.” How different would our profession be if we pledged – even privately – to uphold the ideals of our beloved profession for a public that “attaches great value to architectural quality?” This shift in our own professional culture is the only hope we have to foster a broader, societal culture that appreciates architecture and values what we do as architects.
This advocacy to ensure our profession’s relevance to the public is what I devote myself to every day on your behalf – and I am joined by a team of dedicated staff members who share this focus. We are guided by a Board of Directors that has sincere compassion for the individual members of our professional society along with a strong direction for the profession of architecture in our state.
Our shared hope is that your membership card will come to symbolize for you – if it doesn’t already – an enhanced sense of belonging to an organization that is reflective of the profession’s core values, supportive of your mode of practice, and essential to your career success.
-Helene Combs Dreiling, FAIA