National SFx Board Submits Proposal to Expand Award Opportunities for Small Firms

To all my fellow small firm architects and small firm owners,

Over the last several months the Small Firm Exchange Board has been working to craft recommendations to expand AIA National Awards for Small Firms and Small Firm Architects. And earlier today we submitted a letter to the AIA Awards Task Force asking for the addition of the following awards programs specifically geared to Small Firms and Small Firm Architects:

Proposals: The SFx Board and our membership appreciate the efforts of the Awards Task Force and respectfully offer the following recommendations to expand national AIA award opportunities for small firms.

1. Establish an "AIA Small Firm of the Year Award"

Criteria would align with the AIA Firm Award but be limited to firms with fewer than ten FTEs. This would provide an opportunity to recognize small firms that excel in design quality, practice management, and leadership outside of the AIA Firm award, which has not selected a small firm in over 60 years, bringing SFx into alignment with the other member groups.

2. Establish an "AIA Small Firm Design Award" with a dedicated jury of small firm practitioners, providing greater recognition for the diverse work of small firms and dedicating award opportunities to small firms.

3. Establish a “COTE Top Ten Award for Small Firms” that is specifically for small firms. There are many small firms that have designed very high performing, third party certified projects that address both operational and embodied energy and carbon. This can clearly be seen in the annual By the Numbers 2030 Commitment report that shows, for example, single family residential projects are by far the highest performing project type. A separate program for students was recently added for the COTE awards, and one could be added along the same lines for small firms.

4. Adjust the Small Project Awards to better align with small firms' budget realities by adding a category for projects up to $1 million in construction value, recognizing that a $2.5 million project is considered a large project by the majority of our membership.

As a group we feel this is a necessary first step towards increasing recognition for the work that Small Firms and Small Firm Architects bring to the profession on the national stage. We also feel that these award categories represent the lowest bar to entry requiring little if any real effort on the part of the AIA Awards Task Force to implement. And this has all been made possible by the Leadership of the AIA SFx Board, State Reps, and every member of the SFx who has expressed interest in expanding access and opportunities for award recognition in our profession. 

Thank you, everyone, who has been involved in this process. But the work is not done. Please continue to help us advocate for Small Firms and Small Firm Architects nationally so that this initiative can be successful and act as a steppingstone to greater representation and recognition.