The American Institute of Architecture Students at IIT hosted and participated in the AIAS FORUM 2013 National Conference which took place from December 30,2013-January 2, 2014 in Chicago. AIAS FORUM serves as the largest gathering of architecture students in the world and the 2013 AIAS FORUM was one of the largest FORUMS in recent years attracting more than 1,000 attendees.

For two years, IIT students Taylor Chan, Ryan Gann, Taylor Schaub, Tyler Baldwin, Ashleyann Sanabria, Jeremy Gentile, and John Baldwin, worked to create a content-driven conference that redefined the AIAS Forum. This was an opportunity to highlight IIT by showcasing the talent of its students and professors. For its past work, iitAIAS has received the AIAS National Chapter Honor Award which is the organization’s highest honor recognizing a chapter that demonstrates growing leadership, dedication, and serves as a role model for other chapters around the nation.

Each conference day offered a full schedule of tours, workshops, and sessions hosted by IIT professors, including Stephen Sennott, John DeSalvo, Frank Flury, Paul Pettigrew, Amanda Williams, Thomas Jacobs, Leslie Johnson, and Donna Robertson. Many of the sessions were very well received by attendees, resulting in standing room only. Each day was then concluded with a general session, which was comprised of roll call, candidate speeches, awards presentations, and keynote speakers.

Over the past four years, iitAIAS has grown from a membership of five students to 98 students, and has expanded the scale and number of programming to reach out to students, not only in the IIT College of Architecture but throughout IIT and Chicago. iitAIAS has concentrated on offering a wide variety of programming from professional development panels to a pilgrimage to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Pennsylvania.

View the trailer here.

iitAIAS Chapter Honor Award video.