The American Institute of Architects was founded in New York City in 1857 by a g

roup of 13 architects to "promote the scientific and practical perfection of its

members" and "elevate the standing of the profession."[2] This initial group in
cluded Charles Babcock, Henry W. Cleaveland, Henry Dudley, Leopold Eidlitz, Edwa
rd Gardiner, Richard Morris Hunt, Fred A. Petersen, Jacob Wrey Mould, John Welch
, Richard M. Upjohn and Joseph C. Wells, with Richard Upjohn serving as the firs
t president. They met on February 23, 1857 and decided to invite 16 other promin
ent architects to join them, including Alexander Jackson Davis, Thomas U. Walter
, and Calvert Vaux. Prior to their establishment of the AIA, anyone could claim
to be an architect, as there were no schools of architecture or architectural li
censing laws in the United States.[2]
They drafted a constitution and bylaws by March 10, 1857, under the name New Yor
k Society of Architects. Thomas U. Walter, of Philadelphia, later suggested the
name be changed to American Institute of Architects. The members signed the new
constitution on April 15, 1857, having filed a certificate of incorporation two
days earlier.[2] The constitution was amended the following year with the missio
n "to promote the artistic, scientific, and practical profession of its members;
to facilitate their intercourse and good fellowship; to elevate the standing of
the profession; and to combine the efforts of those engaged in the practice of
Architecture, for the general advancement of the Art."[2] Architects in other ci
ties were asking to join in the 1860s, by the 1880s chapters had been formed in
Albany, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Rhod
e Island, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. As of 2008, AIA has mor
e than 300 chapters.[2]
The AIA is headquartered at the American Center for Architecture at 1735 New Yor
k Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C. A design competition was held in the mid-1960s
to select an architect for a new AIA headquarters in Washington. Mitchell/Giurgo
la won the design competition but failed to get approval of the design concept f
rom the United States Commission of Fine Arts. The firm resigned the commission
and helped select The Architects Collaborative (TAC) to redesign the building. T
he design, led by TAC principals Norman Fletcher and Howard Elkus, was ultimatel
y approved in 1970 and completed in 1973.[3] In honor of the 150th anniversary o
f the organization, the building was formally renamed in 2007 the "American Cent
er for Architecture"[4] and is also home to the American Institute of Architectu
re Students, the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the Natio
nal Architectural Accrediting Board.