Later this year, the AIA New York Chapter Board of Directors and the Center for Architecture Board of Trustees will officially roll out a new, joint strategic plan, charting the course of the next three to five years of our two institutions’ shared future.
The strategic plan is a map for our board leaders, staff, partners, donors, constituents, and, most importantly, our members that reveals where we are going, what our key goals are, and how we’ll achieve them together. That said, the dislocations of 2020 and the years following showed many organizations just how flexible they need to be. For this reason, we have taken care to emphasize the core values that animate our plans, rather than just focus on to-do lists, which will change and adapt as the city—and the world—presents our community with new and surprising challenges and opportunities. Still, we have plenty of to-dos!
One key insight that is driving our plan is the unique reciprocal model of the AIANY and Center for Architecture partnership. Although these organizations are distinct, the interaction between them makes them both more powerful. The shared vision? Together, we advance the value and practice of architecture to promote just and sustainable communities. The communities to which we refer range from our members, to the architecture and allied professional communities more broadly, and to all New Yorkers who live and work in designed environments.
Growing from this shared vision, the two organizations have their own complementary and mutually reinforcing missions:
The Center for Architecture engages local and international audiences with the value, impact, and wonder of architecture. We achieve this through exhibitions, educational experiences for students and families, public programs, and, increasingly, direct outreach and engagement with communities and constituencies around the city.
AIA New York cultivates an open, adept, and future-forward architectural community. We empower members to work at the apex of their abilities through critical exchange, access to professional resources, and advocacy on issues that advance positive change. As the Center reaches out to the public, we want the AIANY to marshal its energy to help make our members more influential and successful.
What changes might we expect in the coming years? At the Center, members can look forward to continued programmatic excellence, deeply researched exhibitions, vibrant public advocacy work, and expanded K–12 education offerings. The vision we are laying out is also reliant on our commitment to creating new partnerships with other communities, including the AIA chapters in Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island; our peer design organizations; and newer voices and groups, as we cultivate an environment of mutual learning and exchange.
AIANY has always been a membership organization that promotes practice, but now we understand that we have to become a listening and learning organization, too. By going deeper on partnerships and collaborations, and by embracing our integrated work with the Center, we can evolve to meet the needs and help realize the aspirations of a dynamic and changing professional community. We look forward to sharing the plan with you this fall!
