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AIA Young Architects Award: The Latest Architecture and News

Kimberly Dowdell Chosen as AIA’s First Black Woman President

The American Institute of Architects has elected Kimberly Dowdell as the 100th president of the organization, making her the first Black woman to hold the position in AIA’s 165-year history. Delegates at the AIA’s annual meeting voted Dowdell to serve first as vice president for 2023. Afterward, she will become president in 2024.

During her campaign for president, Dowdell has expressed her support for minorities, while also making clear that she wants to be an AIA president for all. Her platform is based on four key areas of interest: supporting architects in practice, creating a sense of belonging and ensuring access to the architectural profession and education, addressing climate concerns, and designing for the future, considering rapid technological advances. “I firmly believe that the AIA has the power and potential to better serve our profession” she declared in a video made prior to the election.

14 Architects Selected as Recipients of 2017 AIA Young Architects Awards

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 14 recipients for the 2017 AIA Young Architects Award. Now in its 24th year, the award was founded to honor young architects - licensed 10 years or fewer regardless of their age - who have “shown exceptional leadership and made significant contributions to the profession early in their careers.”

12 Architects to Receive AIA Young Architects Award

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 12 recipients for the 2016 AIA Young Architects Award. The award, now in its 23rd year, recognizes architects who have been licensed for 10 years or fewer. These young architects have shown exceptional leadership and have made significant contributions to the profession. The recipients will be honored at the 2016 AIA National Convention in Philadelphia. Click here to see the winners and their profiles.

Why "Young Architecture" is a Detriment to the Profession

As one of the first organizations to implement a regular award for young architects, The Architectural Review has had its eye on youth for over a decade and a half. But with awards, exhibitions and media coverage of those conspicuously labeled as "Young Architects" proliferating in the years since, has the concept now been co-opted by those who merely seek to monetize and exploit architecture's most precarious practitioners? In this polemical article, originally published by The Architectural Review as "The problem with 'Young Architecture'," AR Assistant Editor Phineas Harper and Phil Pawlett Jackson unpick how the cult of "Young Architecture" has been absorbed into the profession, with potentially harmful ramifications.

When the romantic notion of the architect as auteur, a high priest in the cult of culture, is married to the virginal myth of untainted youth, a potent marketable commodity is brewed: the "Young Architect". All but invisible when the AR launched its Emerging Architecture prize at the end of the 20th century, this breed is now celebrated in numerous awards, exhibitions and published collections. But beware the cult of youth − there is a broad landscape of risks as well as opportunities facing designers who choose this identity willingly or have it thrust upon them.

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2014 AIA Young Architects Award

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has selected 18 recipients for the 2014 AIA Young Architects Award. Defined as professionals who have been licensed ten years or fewer, regardless of their age, the “young architects” will be honored for making significant contributions to the profession and providing exceptional leadership early in their careers. All recipients will be presented the award at the AIA 2014 National Convention and Design Exposition in Chicago.

2013 Young Architects Award

The American Institute of Architects () has selected fifteen recipients to receive the 2013 Young Architects Award. Defined as professionals who have been licensed ten years or fewer, the Young Architects will be honored for making significant contributions to the profession and providing exceptional leadership. The recipients will be presented the award at the 2013 National Convention and Design Exposition in Denver, Colorado.