Message from a Fellow

Martha Peck Andrews.jpg
 

Martha Peck Andrews, FAIA
”Looking for a few good Fellows”

A few weeks ago, at a meeting of the Oregon AIA Fellows – a virtual meeting, of course,  due to the COVID-19 pandemic – I volunteered to write a column about what AIA Fellowship is all about.  That got me to reflecting about how my own architectural career has evolved from a student at the University of Oregon in the 1960’s-70’s, into my first part-time job in an architecture firm during college, through internship and employment in several firms (Texas and Oregon), and eventually partnership with my husband James E. Andrews, AIA, in our own Portland-based firm for 35 years.  Even though I am recently retired, the American Institute of Architects has been an important part of my professional life, especially with election to AIA Fellowship. 

Frequently I have been asked what that means, to be a “Fellow” in the AIA.  This column is written on behalf of the Oregon AIA Fellows Committee to help answer that question.

It’s been 163 years since a group of thirteen New York architects met and agreed to form an architectural society, one that they soon audaciously decided to rename as the American Institute of Architects.  Those AIA Founding Fathers were all talented and creative, responsible for designing many of the landmark buildings being erected in their era, but they probably couldn’t envision the evolution of architecture as we practice in 2020.  And yes, they were all men.  White men.  Not a Founding Mother in the bunch. 

For that matter, they weren’t even architects by today’s standards.  In 1857, there were no educational standards, no internships, not even requirements to demonstrate experience or competency in the interest of public welfare and safety.  All it took to be an architect back then was to simply proclaim yourself an architect. 

But they were visionary, and they were influential in setting standards for our profession. We are the fortunate inheritors of what they started.  Some of us initially join the American Institute of Architects so that we can put the letters “AIA” behind our names. Most of us soon take our professional involvement to a higher level through volunteer service in our communities, education, research, and mentoring. Along the way, we reap the benefits of AIA membership like seminars and tours, design awards programs, and especially the camaraderie of other professionals – not a small thing where many of us work solo or in very small firms. A few AIA members are granted the distinction to add an “F” in front of the AIA to designate “Fellow” in the American Institute of Architects.

So what really is that “FAIA” all about?   To quote the AIA’s own history, “The origins of the term ‘Fellow’ are lost amid the earliest records of the AIA.”  When founded, the organization recognized two levels of membership, Associate and Professional.  And it appears that “Fellow” was interchangeable with Professional. Just like you could decide to call yourself an architect, you could call yourself an AIA Fellow. Beginning in 1935, the AIA board appointed a jury with the responsibility of selecting AIA Fellows, and in 1952 the College of Fellows was established, which is the system of selection for Fellowship that is essentially still in place today. 

Annually the AIA College of Fellows invites submissions of applications for Fellowship, and across the entire country the AIA grants Fellowship to about 100-120 architects.  The applications are detailed and must show how that particular architect’s contributions in the profession and the greater community are outstanding.  Oregon has a legacy of extraordinary architects who have made significant contributions in design and also education, public service, and the profession.  

A candidate for Fellowship must be an AIA member for at least ten years, and then is eligible to apply for Fellowship under one of the five original founding principles of the AIA:

  • To promote the esthetic, scientific and practical efficiency of the profession;

  • To advance the science and art of planning and building by advancing the standards of architectural education, training, and practice;

  • To coordinate the building industry and the profession of architecture;

  • To ensure the advancement of the living standards of people;

  • To make the profession of ever-increasing service to society.

The application must be endorsed by an AIA chapter or by at least ten individual AIA members, and supported by letters of recommendation.

My own pathway to Fellowship wound through private practice with a focus on elderly and special-needs housing; leadership positions in AIA Portland and AIA Oregon; and volunteer service in my community including the Portland Planning Commission.  My contributions best fit the category of “advancing the living standards of people through their improved environment.” With significant help from other women in architecture and the hands-on guidance of AIA Portland’s Fellows Committee, my application was completed and put in the mail to the College of Fellows at AIA headquarters.  (Since then, the application process has become digital.)

Early in 1998 I received a letter indicating that I had been elected to AIA Fellowship, and I was invited to the investiture ceremony during the AIA national convention in San Francisco in May 1998.  Although the AIA’s College of Fellows is headed by a Chancellor, it is nothing like any other college that I ever attended.  The leadership definitely knows how to create pomp and pageantry.  Traditionally the investiture is held in an historic or architecturally significant location.  The 1998 investiture was held in St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco designed by AIA Gold Medalist Pietro Belluschi, FAIA, an inspiring and light-filled space.  As each candidate approached the dais, a summary of their contributions was read; and Seattle architect and 1992 past-Chancellor Jane Hastings, FAIA, made a point of warmly greeting each Pacific Northwest or woman architect.  It was quite a moving experience.

At that time, I was the third woman architect in Oregon to be granted Fellowship, following in the footsteps of Marjorie Wintermute, FAIA (1979), and Mary Alice Hutchins, FAIA (1997).  Those two remarkable women had begun their architectural careers during World War II when most of the young men were marching off in uniform, and architecture firms were desperate enough to take a chance on a “girl.” (Those firms definitely got an excellent return on their gamble.)  I was part of the next generation of woman architects and I am so delighted now to see many women in our profession. 

AIA Oregon is now proud to claim about 64 Fellows, including 10 women.And we are always looking for a few more good Fellows. . . . If you would like to suggest an AIA member for nomination to Fellowship, please contact The Fellows Committee through AIA Oregon.