It is clear through the posts regarding Bill Clinton being selected as the keynote speaker for the AIA convention, that both the AIA and most of it's members, have no idea about politics or architecture. As a members of the AIA for the past 16 years and the owner of a small architectural firm that mainly designs residential projects, I am fully aware of the damage that Bill Clinton specifically, and other politicians generally, have wrought on my profession.
The AIA has done a poor job of representing our profession, and by extension, promoting our profession to the public. I have been on the fence about renewing my membership in this organization for the past few years...mainly due to the 40% cut in fees exeprienced by the gutting of the housing market, but now because of the lack of leadership and squandering of money.
It is sad, that a licensed profession such as ours: can't get proper fees, has no respect in the business world as a business, has ceded most of it's power to the building industry, etc. There is an obvious tendency to only portray Architects in advertising as visionaries, artists, and anything else other than licensed professionals. As a LICENSED PROFESSION, we perform a vital service that creates value for our clients (both aesthetically and financially), protects the health, safety, and welfare of the public, and maintains the quality of our built environment. Architects have been marginalized to such an extent that the only value we provide is to be one left holding the bag with all the responsibility and none of the profit.
Sorry, the idea of wasting money, that I don't have, to go to a convention and listen to a useless keynote speaker, that doesn't speak to anything regarding the advancement of this profession, is something I can justify. Also, I will be thinking long and hard about trying to justify renewing my membership in this organization.
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John Brower AIA
Principal Partner
Dugasz & Brower Architects, Inc.
Woodbridge NJ
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