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Mission


AIA Small Project Design Knowledge Community supports, celebrates, and promotes small projects by engaging designers and the public.

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Sponsorship Prospectus

Our Events


SPP Events at A'19 Las Vegas
2019 Las Vegas
Join Small Project Practitioners and Small Firm Exchange (SFx) in Las Vegas! Register early and save.

EV205 -  Link Up at the AIA Community Connections Social
6/6/19 | 6:30-8:30pm | $40  Learn more

ME302 -  Small Project and Small Firm Exchange Forum
6/7/19 | 1:00-2:30pm | $10 | Las Vegas Convention Center | Room N219 | 3150 Paradise Road  Learn more

SA107 -  2019 Small Project Design Awards: "Together We..."
6/8/19 | 10:00-11:00am | 1.00 LU/RIBA |  Westgate Las Vegas | 3000 Paradise Road  Learn more

SA207 -  Small-Forum Needs: A National SFx Committee Open Forum
6/8/19 | 11:30am-1:00pm | 1.50 LUs/RIBA |  Westgate Las Vegas | 3000 Paradise Road  Learn more

SA302 -  The Small Firm's Guide to AIA Contract Documents
6/8/19 | 1:30-2:30pm | 1.00 LU/GBCI/RIBA |  Westgate Las Vegas | 3000 Paradise Road  Learn more


See more events >

Explore the conference schedule with 500+ sessions by clicking here.


Significant Small Projects

Click image to launch video.

Trailhead
Doug Stockman and The Girl Scouts


SPP Review

        

 SPP Review 2016                         SPP Review 2015

  Look inside the book >
     
  Look inside the book >

SPP Review is an annual publication by and for SPP's members.
Projects were selected by the SPP Advisory Group based on merit and compatibility with the theme: Small Gesture Big Impact

 

 

Out of Scale

The AIA’s Small Project Practitioners (SPP) Knowledge Community’s Advisory Group
launched the Small Project Awards program in 2005 to celebrate work whose creativity and impact are “Out of Scale.”

 

 

Research Grant Final Report:
2016 AIA Innovation and Practice in House Design


Congratulations to Tricia Stuth, AIA and Ted Shelton, FAIA for their winning propsal, Leveraging Existing Custom Fabrication Abilities in the Design of Small Affordable Houses.

Project narrative: Calling on custom fabrication abilities widely available in the timber home and roof truss manufacturing industries, this research explores their potential for architectural expression and space making in small, inexpensive, light wood framed houses.

Read the full report.
Read the full proposal.


They will continue to work and document new developments in a blog.

Ongoing work includes:
  • Interoperability experiments with a truss manufacturer to see how easily their software talks to Revit and/or Sketchup. (in process)
  • Several upcoming blog posts on lessons learned at the SBC convention (in process)
  • Development of our selected house design and, working with a component manufacturer, creation of an associated DD set of drawings



About the grant:

The AIA Small Project Practitioners (SPP) and Housing Knowledge Community (HKC) are proud to offer the 2016 AIA Innovation and Practice in Housing Design Research Grant. This grant will fund one design professional to conduct research on a topic related to residential design on a small scale or by small firms.


BIM for Small Projects Videos


There is a widely shared perception that small firms and sole practitioners cannot take advantage of Building Information Modeling due to such factors as its cost, complexity, training time, and productivity for small projects. These case studies, presented by architects who work in small firms or as sole practitioners, will demonstrate how BIM has enhanced their practices and enabled them to create excellent projects.

This is a series of “BIM for Small Projects” by the AIA Technology in Architectural Practice Knowledge Community, where architects share their experiences.

View the first webinar. View the second webinar.

AIA Contract Documents
​

AIA Document A145™–2015
Standard Form of Agreement Between Owner and Design-Builder for a One or Two Family Residential Project is a streamlined, homeowner-friendly document created to meet the needs of residential design-builders. 

AIA Document C102™–2015
Standard Form of Teaming Agreement between Team Manager and Team Member for the Purpose of Responding to a Solicitation and Pursuing a Project establishes the parties’ responsibilities in pursuing a project and requires them to negotiate project agreements up front. 

AIA Document G742™–2015
Application and Certificate for Payment for a Design-Build Project

AIA Document G743™–2015
Continuation Sheet for a Design-Build Project 

The new G742™–2015
Application and Certificate for Payment for a Design-Build Project and attendant G743™–2015,     Continuation Sheet for a Design-Build Project are convenient forms on which the design-builder can apply for payment and the owner can certify the amount due.  These forms round out the AIA’s commercial Design-Build Family of documents.



Resources

Small Project Practitioners Round Table Toolkit

The toolkit serves as a resource for those wishing to engage in individual study and group discussions at the local level.


Resources for Small Firms

Our small firm resources help you find tips and solutions especially geared for you, the small-project practitioner.

AIA Trust for Small Firms

Most AIA Trust programs are aimed at small firms that don’t have an HR or legal department to evaluate and administer benefits. From a sole proprietorship to a firm of 10 employees, smaller firms will find many AIA Trust programs well suited to their needs. Learn more.

Small Firm Round Table Videos

AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA *Meet Small Firm Owner and SPP Member 2012 AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA
Jeffrey Rosenblum, FAIA and Michael Stanton, FAIA
 Richard Capshaw, Esq.
 Steve Stephanides, Beazley Group
 Duane Repko, Victor O. Shinnerer & Company
 Guy LeVan, XL Insurance
 John Willard, Zurich A/E
 Bradford Russell, AIA
 Ann Casso, AIA Trust
 Lisa Stacholy, AIA

AIA Contract Documents License for Small Firms

AIA Contract Documents give you the Industry Standard—the most widely used contracts by architects, contractors and owners alike. Did you know that, as an AIA Member, you can access the entire library of AIA Contract Documents with our user-friendly software for as little as $199? Learn more about the Docs 100 License and Documents on Demand.

 

Small Projects and Small Firms Idea Exchange

Small Projects and Small Firms Idea Exchange offers advice and commentary by and about small-firm and small-project architects like you.

Managing a Practice

Discover tools and resources you need to help guide your practice, regardless of the size of your firm including financial, practice and human resources as well as industry information.

Navigating the Economy

Discover practical tips and resources to help you and your firm navigate through a sluggish economy.

Podcasts

The Stimulus Package and Your Business Plan
 Managing Staff in Difficult Times
 The Transitional Small Practice

Visit AIA PodNet or subscribe to the series on iTunes.

Latest Discussions

Latest Blogs

  • Profile Picture

    2025 CRAN Grant Recipients

    By: Susan Parrish
    Posted in: Custom Residential Architects Network

    CRAN® Chapter Grant The CRAN Executive Committee established the Chapter Grant to support local AIA chapters in developing impactful programs and activities led by existing or emerging CRAN committees. ... more

  • Profile Picture

    BPKC Resources

    By: Jessica Saravia, AIA
    Posted in: Building Performance

    The BPKC Leadership Group is going to create an updated page for building performance and building science resources. Stay tuned for developments and please feel free to reach out if you have suggestions ... more

  • Profile Picture

    Letter from the chair, December 2025 - Phillip W. Neuberg FAIA

    By: Alison Karfeld
    Posted in: Public Architects Committee

    What a productive twelve months it has been, thanks to the enthusiastic contributions of our leadership and Ad hoc members, consisting of architects and allied professionals working in the public sphere ... more