« February 2010 | Main | April 2010 »

March 2010 Archives

March 22, 2010

2010 YAF/ COD Ideas Competition, "Temporary/Permanent Relief Housing"

The AIA Young Architects Forum (YAF) and the AIA Committee on Design (COD) invites architects, students, and allied design professionals to submit sketches to the international 2010 YAF/ COD Ideas Competition, entitled "Temporary/Permanent Relief Housing." In this unique sketch competition, submitters are asked to explore the issue of temporary relief housing that could have a permanent function, through a concept design problem. Winners will be announced and will have their work exhibited at the 2010 AIA National Convention in Miami June 10–12. Selected entries will be displayed on the AIA Web site.  Please visit the competition homepage.

March 23, 2010

Architecture Week Exhibit at AIA National Headquarters

 AIAS Launches Exhibit to Celebrate Emerging Professionals


In recognition of Architecture Week 2010, the American Institute of Architecture Students is proud to present a collection of work, art and designs from emerging professionals all across North America. All of the displays will be works completed by individuals who are along the path to becoming licensed in the field of architecture but have not yet gained their license. What better way to celebrate Architecture Week 2010 than by inviting the next generation of architects and designers to show off their ideas and designs? Displays will include completed work from students in the AIAS Freedom by Design™ Program, AIAS Design Competitions, ACSA Design Competitions, Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 student work from a collection of architecture schools, as well as work from recent graduates that are well on their way to becoming architects. Along with the submitted designs there will be informational boards ta lking about the profession and the many paths emerging professionals can take after graduating. The AIAS hopes that the exhibit will not only promote the great work of the next generation of architects but also inspire professionals to mentor and engage the many brilliant and motivated emerging professionals across the country.

The exhibit open April 11, 2010 and will remain on display through the end of the month. In order to best represent emerging professionals across North America, AIAS is asking you to submit your works. The exhibit will cover nearly 125 lineal feet of wall space over two floors. To ensure a collective appearance throughout the exhibit, AIAS will be designing all final displays using the digital files of work submitted (a final rendering of the spaces will be provided to all individuals prior to exhibit opening to ensure the format in which all work will be displayed is appropriate).

Work of AIAS members will receive priority and top billing over other submissions, but an effort to include as much work as possible will be made to create an exhibit that is inclusive of all emerging professionals. In total the AIAS is looking to collect and display approximately 45-60 works along with informational boards on the path to becoming an architect, the different alternative paths available to emerging professionals and statistics on the current state of emerging professionals and the architecture profession as a whole.

The size and scope of the exhibit is being left rather broad to allow for as many different voices to be expressed. Submissions can be a result of work in a class, studio, design competition, personal investigation or work within a firm (must be the main designer of the project). Work can be, but is not limited to:

  • architecture photographs
  • final design boards
  • developmental design sketches
  • complete drawing sets
  • models (shipping would be at designers expense
  • video*

 

Please check out the submission website

March 25, 2010

Intern Compensation

Can Intern Architects Work for Free to Get IDP Experience?

Employment opportunities are limited for recent architecture graduates who want to fulfill their Intern Development Program (IDP) training requirement. Some firms may be wondering if they can do good by giving intern architects work experience in unpaid positions. Generally speaking, federal employment law dictates that the answer is “no.”

The AIA last responded to this question in the early 1990s during another economic downturn. Then, as now, concerns were voiced about how the scarcity of paying jobs could force intern architects into other lines of work, never to return to the practice of architecture. As a result, an entire age group within the profession could be depleted. At the same time, concerns were voiced that intern architects can be exploited by firms because of the pressure on intern architects to obtain work experience for licensure.

More than 10 years ago, the AIA began requiring architects who seek to become Institute Officers, Directors, or Fellows (or to receive AIA awards or speak at AIA events) to confirm that they do not employ unpaid intern architects. Ultimately, however, the issue is primarily a legal one, not just a matter of AIA policy. Between abiding by federal law, on one hand, and meeting the direct supervision training requirements for IDP as established by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), on the other hand, there remains little room for unpaid architectural internships.

Federal law governing labor and employment generally places workers into one of the following three categories:

Employees – These individuals are protected by minimum wage and other laws and therefore cannot be unpaid. Whether an “employer/employee” relationship exists is determined by objective factors and cannot be precluded simply by the agreement of those involved. The Department of Labor’s Web site [http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/docs/contractors.asp] provides a good source of general information on this topic. There are various exceptions to the applicability of minimum wage laws to employees, such as for “apprentices” in building trades, but none apply to intern architects.

Independent Contractors – The work terms of these individuals may be largely set by the parties’ agreement, as long as the workers are not objectively determined to be employees. NCARB policy, however, does not recognize work performed by independent contractors as satisfying IDP requirements. (See page 30 of the IDP Guidelines) [http://www.ncarb.org/forms/idp_guidelines.pdf] An independent contractor typically does not work under the “direct supervision” that is a hallmark of training.

Volunteers – Federal law generally prohibits workers from volunteering services to for-profit private sector employers, as explained on the Department of Labor Web site [http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/scope/ee16.asp]. Individuals may volunteer services without contemplation of pay to not-for-profit organizations for public service, humanitarian, and personal objectives but not as employees.

This leaves unemployed intern architects and the architects who would wish to provide them with IDP experience (but can’t afford to pay) somewhere between a rock and a hard place. The possibility remains for intern architects to volunteer their services to non-profit organizations who provide architectural services if the organization can provide a work setting that qualifies under IDP Guidelines. And it may be possible, as well, for intern architects to volunteer services to public sector (state or local government) entities. In either case, however, an intern architect would need to determine whether a particular volunteer/supervisor arrangement would satisfy IDP or state licensing requirements for training. In addition, the non-profit organization or public sector entity would need to verity that using the intern architect’s services without pay complies with federal law. After all, non-profit organizations must comply with employment law with respect to workers that they employ.

AIA Associate General Counsel Greg Hancks, AIA, authored this article which appeared in AIArchitect in 2009. 


 

About March 2010

This page contains all entries posted to National Associates Committee in March 2010. They are listed from oldest to newest.

February 2010 is the previous archive.

April 2010 is the next archive.

Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.

Powered by
Movable Type 3.34