Advancing prosperity for architects
AIA President Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMAC, discusses what AIA can do to address the key issues architects are facing.
Embarking upon the AIA presidency prompted me to think about the key issues that architects are facing and what AIA can specifically do to help address those issues. At the beginning of my term, I convened an ad hoc committee to help me examine how AIA can help enhance business performance for architecture firms of all types, in service to improving compensation levels for architects and our emerging talent. The initiatives that have been prioritized by the “Prosperity Committee” are as follows:
- Engagement (procurement) of architectural services
- Fees and contracts: best practices for budgeting and quoting new products
- Project leadership: achieving strong design, delivery, and profitability
- Firm leadership: business acumen and practices to yield profitable firm performance
- Compensation: salaries and benefits to attract and retain the talent we need
I firmly believe that these five initiatives are necessary to further advance business performance and compensation for architects, and I am proud to share that AIA already has some of this work underway. Business acumen training was recently introduced via AIAU. Our newest Business of Architecture report will be released next month with insights into the business operations at firms. As AIA plans for the 2025 Compensation and Benefits study, the advice of this group will help inform that work. I would like to thank the 2024 AIA Prosperity Committee, Justin Chapman, Curtis Clay, Clark Davis, Brett Leonhardt, Ann Thompson, and Carole Wedge for participating in this think tank at my request. Special thanks to AIA staff lead, Michele Russo, for supporting our efforts by providing the research needed to shape the committee’s discussions. This work is not intended to be a silver bullet to the financial challenges that face our industry, but rather the planting of seeds to help foster important and productive conversations in the years ahead.
AIA is particularly committed to understanding and discussing the economic challenges and opportunities of our young architects. The backbone of our industry is our talent and ability to recruit young talent. Those who are coming into this profession expect to be able to meet their financial needs on an architect’s salary. Yet, it is no secret that the cost of living is steadily rising. Architecture students are graduating with staggering student debt on top of needing to cover their basic expenses with 73 percent of all AIA members needing to borrow money to pay for college. But when you consider age, it tells a more troubling story: 89 percent of AIA members under 35 are burdened with student debt, compared to 66 percent of those between 55 and 64 who needed student loans when they were in school. All of this coupled with relatively slow growth in starting salaries is a recipe for the talent shortages we are seeing in the workforce. As a result, almost half of AIA members who borrowed money for college have considered leaving architecture or have already done so (44 percent).
A leadership professor of mine used to say that “people vote with their feet.” In other words, our industry will continue to see emerging architects walk away from traditional practice and toward more lucrative opportunities elsewhere unless compensation levels meet expectations of the enxt generation. It isn’t personal, it’s business. Many of them would love to pursue their dream of shaping the built environment as architects. The unfortunate reality is that their ambitious design dreams can’t quite cover the rent, food, loans, and other essential costs for which they are responsible. As a result, they find opportunities in real estate, construction, engineering and technology companies, among others, that can leverage their training as an architect while paying them well above an architect’s average salary.
As a first step, the 2024 AIA Prosperity Committee has created a document to provide guidance on the first initiative on our list: 2024 AIA Engagement Guidance for Architects and Clients
We invite you to review the guidance and provide your feedback to me directly: kimberlydowdell@aia.org
As I mentioned in my AIA24 remarks in June, “The profession's compensation strategies must be adjusted to reflect the true cost of architectural education, and the value architects bring to their clients and communities.” Architects and their firm vary in structure, objectives, and resources, which necessitates independent and customized decision-making to ensure your firm is optimizing its outcomes while best serving your clients and communities.
Read Kimberly Dowdell's previous articles on Engaging Future Architects and Championing Chief Architects.