AIA Chicago Foundation
The AIA Chicago Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organization which supports scholarships, grants, awards, and initiatives to strengthen Chicago’s architectural community and the future of the profession. The Foundation’s Board of Trustees are elected annually by the AIA Chicago membership. All AIA Chicago members are also members of the AIA Chicago Foundation.
Contributions made to the AIA Chicago Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, are fully tax-deductible.
Scholarships
AIA Chicago Foundation Diversity Scholarship
The AIA Chicago Foundation Diversity Scholarship seeks to attract and retain diverse, talented young professionals in Chicago and recognizes the value of new and unique voices in the profession. Scholarships are for students attending IIT, SAIC, and UIC.
Awards: Up to two recipients. Each receive $10,000 over two years
Submissions open: Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Submissions close: May 12, 2023 at 11:59 PM
Established: 2019
Funding: Corporate and individual donations
Martin Roche Travel Scholarship
Established in 1926 by architect Martin Roche, FAIA, the Martin Roche Travel Scholarship gives a student the opportunity to independently study architecture abroad.
Awards: $6,000
Submissions open: Paused for 2023
Submissions close: Paused for 2023
Established: 1926
Funding: AIA Chicago Foundation donations
Community Outreach
Architects in Schools
Managed through AIA Chicago's Community Engagement Affinity Group, Architects in Schools (AIS) focuses on bringing architecture professionals into middle school classrooms to introduce students to the profession.
Volunteers engage the students in critically analyzing their neighborhood for opportunities to create positive change while utilizing architecture as a means for implementing solutions.
Programs are currently active at the following schools:
- Cameron Elementary (Humboldt Park)
- Chavez Multicultural Academic Academy (Back of the Yards)
- George M. Pullman Elementary (Pullman)
- Whittier Dual Language Academy (Pilsen)
Chicago Architecture + Design College Day
Held annually in the fall, the Chicago Architecture + Design College Day is a free event open to high school and college students, parents, teachers, and counselors interested in learning more about careers in Architecture, Interior Design, Construction Management, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning.
With over 50 colleges and universities represented, this is fantastic one-stop-shop for any student considering this career pathway.
Awards
Dubin Family Young Architect Award
Award: $2,000
Submissions open: Week of August 7, 2023
Submissions close: Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award
Roberta Feldman Architecture for Social Justice Award, established in 2020, seeks to honor excellence in built projects and design programs guided by the conviction that access to high quality architecture is not a privilege, it is a human right.
Submissions open: April
Submissions close: June
Competitions
Chicago Student Award in Architecture
The Chicago Award in Architecture is an annual juried competition of student projects.
Awards: $200-$500
Deadline for professors to nominate: Early May, 2023
Deadline for students to submit work: Early June, 2023
Funding: Donations to the AIA Chicago Foundation
Disruptive Design
Disruptive Design was a three-part design competition that sought to address challenges associated with designing and building affordable, owner-occupied housing.
Awards: $200-$500
Timeline: This competition occurred in 2018-2019.
Funding: AIA Chicago, Northern Trust, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, LISC Chicago, NHS
"I'm inspired by those who embrace and explore differences. By doing so we can find common ground and hopefully stronger richer solutions."
2022 AIA Chicago Foundation Contributors
$20,000+
Alphawood Foundation Chicago
$10,000 - $19,999
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation
$5,000 - $9,999
Globetrotters Engineering Corporation
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts
$1,000 - $4,999
Anonymous (2)
Nancy Abshire, AIA Emeritus
The American Institute of Architects
bKL Architecture
Bulley & Andrews
Jaime Torres Carmona, AIA; Founding Principal, Canopy
M. David Dubin and Family
Gensler
Goettsch Partners
HED
Ralph Johnson, FAIA and Kathy Nagle
Jorcano Fund
Lamar Johnson Collaborative
LBBA
Perkins&Will
Dawn Schuette, FAIA
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
SmithGroup
Society of Architectural Historians
Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB)
Stantec Architecture
P.K. VanderBeke, AIA
Wheeler Kearns Architects
Mary and Michael Woolever
$500 - $999
Anonymous (1)
Fred L. Brandstrader, AIA
Elliott E. Dudnik, PhD, FAIA
Howard Ellegant, AIA Member Emeritus
Roberta M. Feldman, PhD
Peter H. Landon, FAIA
Morlights
JinHwa Paradowicz, AIA; Perkins Eastman
Schuler Shook
Chris Ann Spencer, AIA, NOMA and Grant Gibson, AIA
Grant C. Uhlir, FAIA; Gensler
$100 - $499
Anonymous (4)
88 West Architecture / Matthew Snoap Architect, AIA
Cameron Acheson, AIA
Assured Architectural Windows and Doors
K. John Ast, AIA Emeritus
Anne Babineau, Esq. Wilentz Goldman & Spitzer,
Fellow of American College of Real Estate Lawyers
Chris Carpenter, Affil. AIA Chicago
Christopher E. Chwedyk, AIA
Stuart Cohen & Julie Hacker Architects LLC
Ellen Bailey Dickson, FAIA
En Masse Architecture and Design
Kristine K. Fallon, FAIA
Laura A. Fisher, FAIA
Glenn Garlick
Walker C. Johnson, FAIA
JumpGarden Consulting LLC
David M. Kennedy, AIA
Helen J. Kessler, FAIA
M Viamontes Architects
Bob Magruder, Affil. AIA Chicago; Goodfriend Magruder Structures
Jen Masengarb, Assoc. AIA
Josh Mings, AIA
$100 - $499 (cont.)
Julia M. Mosqueda, Assoc. AIA
Nowhere Collaborative
RADA Architects
Semple+Rappe Architects
Gracia Maria Shiffrin, FAIA
Cynthia and Eric Singer
Walter D. Street III, AIA, NOMA
Danielle Tillman, AIA, NOMA
Dorothy & Tim Tracey, AIA
John Vinci, FAIA
Peter Wojtowicz, AIA
Up to $99
Anonymous (33)
Roula Alakiotou, FAIA
Aptus
Martha Bell, FAIA
Joseph Caprile, FAIA
David M. Chasco, FAIA
Drew Deering, AIA
Lynda Dossey, AIA
Aimee Eckmann, FAIA; Principal, Perkins&Will
Rand K. Ekman, FAIA, LEED Fellow
Sharon and Peter Exley, FAIA
Jessica Figenholtz, AIA
Holly Gerberding, FAIA
Jason Golub, AIA
Thomas Hoepf, FAIA
Nathan Kipnis, FAIA
Nancy Kohout; SmithGroup
Krueck Sexton Partners
John H. Nelson, FAIA
Office for Urban Experiments
Nathan Rennich
Ross Barney Architects
Ashley Spell
Enrique Suarez, AIA
Chey Taylor, AIA
David A. Urschel, FAIA
Edward Wagner
Weiss Architects