For First Vice President/President-Elect

Angel C. Saqui, FAIA

• 1998–2000 Florida Caribbean Regional Director
• Two decades of involvement with the national AIA
• Founder of the firm Angel C. Saqui, FAIA, Architects, Planners, Interiors Ltd., in partnership with son Angel C. Saqui II, AIA, and wife Charo Saqui.

The following are some of my visions for the AIA, as president in 2003:
• An open AIA, with all important issues, particularly the ones that impact the Institute’s finances, to be discussed openly with the leadership of the components, with sufficient lead time for sound decision making. The membership is to be kept well informed of all important issues being considered or undertaken by the national leadership.
• An economically solvent AIA, with safely preserved assets and a solid base of nondues revenues.
• Full cooperation and coordination with the components.
• Full support and backing of the PIAs, committees, and task forces.
• All members of the national Board to have ample opportunities to express and develop the plans and ideas brought by them, with provisions for following up on those plans and ideas.
• A profession united through the AIA. All architects to be invited to participate in a national campaign for this purpose.
• Implementation of a long-range plan for the AIA to assume total control of the profession, as the architectural associations of other countries do.
• 100% membership of architects and architectural students in the AIA.
• Unification of allied professions by: (1) furthering existent dialogues and establishing new ones for finding and ratifying common goals and interests, and for ironing out disagreements; and (2) seeking legislation in every state requiring that, for every project for human use or habitation for which a building permit is required, construction documents be prepared, signed, and sealed by an architect and a design professional from the licensed disciplines involved.
• Seeking changes in legislation in every state to remove existing exemptions to their practice acts.
• Opening new opportunities for our members with federal government agencies.
• Supporting firms of all sizes.
• Supporting nonconventional practitioners.
• Drafting and implementing procedures giving universities accreditation to certify architects for national licensing after graduation, as other countries do.
• Elevating the architectural profession to the degree of recognition, respect, and compensation of medical doctors, attorneys, and other professionals.
• And many more issues of importance to the profession.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.