The American Institute of Architecture Students held an informational session Monday afternoon hoping to gain interest for the group.
Located in the heart of the College Design, students gathered around “The Egg” to hear organization leaders speak on what they can expect if they join. About 40 students showed up to hear Co-Presidents Nicole Hatjioannou and Shawna Hammon speak on available opportunities.
The AIAS , although inactive for the past several years, is now up and running at full speed. With funding from the College of Design, student appropriations and alumni, interested students can look forward to traveling and gaining general architecture knowledge.
“Our purpose is to help us become better architects, and to give us the knowledge to become architects,” Hammon , a graduate student in architecture, said.
The program used to be extremely popular on campus, Hammon said. Leaders attended a leadership seminar this summer to prepare them for the upcoming year.
An international organization, AIAS’s biggest event is called “forum.” It will be held in Phoenix, AZ this year.
“Our goal is to take five or six students. It would be great if we could take more, like 15 students, because that’s the typical number that AIAS organizations would bring. Since we have been inactive in recent years, even attending the conference would be a huge step for us,” Hammon said.
AIAS will look to alumni to fund the trip. It will cost about $550 to send one student, according to Hammon . Since it is a startup organization — due to its recent inactivity — student appropriations also factor into the budget. Hammon said she could not comment on the amount of money the College of Design allocates.
The organization does not get as much as the Design Council, though, according to Hammon .
Students who join AIAS will get a free 18-month associate membership to American Institute of Architecture upon graduation.
AIA is in collaboration with AIAS , and students involved are invited to AIA conventions.
Hatjioannou , a junior in architecture, listed several reasons for students to join.
“We are trying to get students prepared for joining the AIA , just in the U.S ., and we are having firm calls, construction visits and advising students on how to get their work published,” Hatjioannou said.
The club has not visited any on-campus construction sites, such as the Talley Student Center, because they are very near the beginning. However, they plan to have a “firm call” with Talley architect Turan Duda , according to Hatjioannou .
According to its website, AIAS has a four-part mission statement: To promote excellence in architecture education, training and practice; To foster an appreciation of architecture and related disciplines; To enrich communities in a spirit of collaboration; To organize students and combine their efforts to advance the art and science of architecture.
