Custom Residential Architects Network

This message has been cross posted to the following Discussion Forums: Custom Residential Architects Network and Housing Knowledge Community .
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Perry Cofield AIA
Design Ways & Means Architects
Arlington VA
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Unless state laws remain on the books to require an architect's seal on commercial work- lets face it- the AIA has no fiscal basis for existence at all.  Residential architects, mostly free of this statutory device, are on their own.  I enjoy AIA for the collegiality among practitoners, but have not found membership to be much of a sway for potential clients.  Nor is their a practical way for AIA to reduce the dues for lower income sole practitoners- short of us suubmitting a tax return to prove that we make less money than a principal of SOM.  Unless someone comes up with a great new idea it must remain: You pays your money and makes your choice.

Hi Perry,

Someone was mentioning PE's pay only $75/yr for dues... Not sure of that but ASCE/structural institute is $230 and ASHRAE is $190, but I think they don't have local, state, and national entities, only a national umbrella (i could be wrong)

I very much think that it would be good to have a radically discounted rate for folks just licensed and then ramp it up very gradually in maybe 2 or 3 year increments... students or associates should be super cheap or free. This would grow membership over time and the larger the membership, the lower the cost/member could be for a given level of services...

I know at a local chapter level with a few hundred members and a paid staffer or two, it is hard to make ends meet with the typical chapter level dues, I'm assuming state and national would have better economics; ratio of paid staff to overall membership would be much lower... locally, we haven't raised our dues in quite a number of years (maybe a decade)

Interesting topic!

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Dan Sloan AIA
Sloan & Sloan, Inc.
Delray Beach FL
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