What AIA NC Does for You

Working as an architect is about more than just design.

It’s more than delivering a set of construction documents. It’s more than helping a client turn their ideas into spaces and buildings.

You are problem solvers. You are trusted advisors. You are business owners. You are managers. You’re ambassadors to and for the public. And you’re responsible for the health, safety, and welfare of the people who inhabit the buildings we design.

Advocating means applying your skills to solve challenges outside the walls of the buildings you design, to protect our profession, to shape public policy, and to be leaders in your communities.

Here you’ll find all the ways that AIA North Carolina is advocating on behalf of architects, and how you can get involved and make a difference in your community, regardless of your previous civic experience.

There are multiple ways to get involved, from attending an AIA North Carolina committee meeting to helping influence federal-level policy-making. We’re here to help you find ways to leverage your unique skills as an architect to meaningfully give back.

Advocacy is for Everyone

As an architect, you are in a unique position to understand problems and offer solutions. As trained critical thinkers you offer a vital voice in delivering messages that impact your communities. Advocacy is not something mysterious that can only be accomplished by a few. Advocacy is simply making your voice heard. Advocacy is sharing your expertise and collaborating with other professionals to make a difference.

Because advocacy is for everyone, we need you. We need your point of view as we navigate ways to achieve the profession’s goals. Whether it be through state legislation, county boards, city councils, county offices, planning commissions, etc., architects have a role to play.

Why is Advocacy Important?

Architects have a duty and professional responsibility to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. Advocacy efforts draw attention to important issues or causes by educating decision-makers about the impact of their choices on how people live, work, and play. Policymakers work hard, but they cannot be experts in every possible area in which they have to make decisions. This is where you come in as informed, educated advocates. You have expertise and experience — use those to help solve problems and create better outcomes for communities.

What Can Architects Do?

To be involved in advocacy, architects simply need to stand up and talk about policies that fulfill the mission of supporting the creation of safe, beautiful, and sustainable environments.