Washington – The American Institute of Architects (AIA) today announced the 2019 honorees of its Diversity Recognition Program, which celebrates architects and organizations actively committed to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within the architecture profession. This marks the eleventh year of the program.
Contributions and objectives of this year’s honorees are as follows:
Women Inspiring Emerging Leaders in Design (WIELD)
WIELD is a program for emerging professionals developed in collaboration with AIA Washington, DC. A leading equity, diversity and inclusion platform, WIELD has become a movement to amplify the voices of both experienced and emerging leaders to motivate fellow upcoming trailblazers in the profession. WIELD provides a forum for sharing stories of empowerment and resilience through the lens of EDI.
Designing in Color
Designing in Color (DCo) is a collaborative architectural platform that amplifies the voices of minority designers. It seeks to celebrate multicultural creativity and encourage young minority professionals to thrive in challenging environments. To serve underrepresented designers and communities, DCo hosts workshops and lectures to facilitate discussions about architecture. To promote knowledge sharing, DCo documents and makes available its programs via website and social media.
Women in Design-Milwaukee
Women in Design-Milwaukee promotes work produced by women in Milwaukee's creative design fields. Since its inception in 2014, the group has hosted numerous lectures, mentoring events, community service projects, and panel presentations. Many programs are created in partnership with other local organizations including Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC), Future Milwaukee, American Society of Interior Designers, International Interior Design Association, Women in Toys, and local nonprofits.
AIA Westchester Hudson Valley Afterschool Architecture Club
In 2009, AIA Westchester Hudson Valley began an outreach initiative with the mission of promoting diversity in the architecture profession by introducing young, mostly minority, K-12 students to architecture as a possible career choice. An after-school "Design Club" was formed in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, staffed each week by volunteer architects from the component. The program has evolved since launch, and now serves students in grades 7–12 with more advanced curriculum.
Building Future Architects
Formed by a team from the National Associates Committee Architecture, the Building Future Architects program was developed to introduce architecture and design thinking to students in fourth and fifth grades. The 12-week afterschool program encourages students to explore the design process and culminates with a project where students design a “school of their dreams.”
Architecture + Design Summer Camp
The Alex Foundation's architecture and design summer camp provides design education to youth in the rural Arkansas Delta. Architects and other allied professionals teach architecture and design a one-week co-ed camp and an all-girls camp, which was created to connect girls with women leaders in the architecture profession.
Honorees were selected this year by jurors Steven Spurlock, FAIA; Linsey Graff, Assoc. AIA; and Jason Pugh, AIA. More information on the program and complete details regarding honorees is available on AIA’s website.
