PRACTICE TRANSITIONS
James Scheeler: An Architect Who Keeps Going and Going and . . .

by Tracy Ostroff
Associate Editor

Summary: James A. Scheeler, FAIA, says he is a happy man. He’s content with his job as Resident Fellow, International Relations, working on contract with the AIA, forging relationships with international architects through the International Union of Architects (UIA). A former interim executive vice president of the national AIA and Kemper Award recipient, Scheeler is also writing a history of the AIA for the Institute’s sesquicentennial. He is painstakingly culling through records of the organization’s annual conventions to ascertain the important issues that the professional society has tackled over its 150-year history.

Scheeler’s full-time employment and subsequent volunteer work at the AIA come after an accomplished career as a design architect in the Chicago office of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, where he was part of the Air Force Academy design team under Walter Netsch, FAIA. He was also principal of award-winning Richardson, Severns, Scheeler, & Associates, Champaign, Ill., which was recognized for its work in institutional and campus planning and the design of college and university educational and housing facilities.

Passion for his profession drives the 79-year-old architect. “I believe it is the creative side of architecture that keeps architects involved. At least, in part, it is the fact that our built environment is such a part of our culture, and it is such a responsibility to have had a hand in producing the artifacts that make up that culture,” Scheeler says about his continuing dedication to his work. “It has been a fun series of very rewarding challenges—more than just bottom-line reward.”

It has been a fun series of very rewarding challenges—more than just bottom-line reward

International Alliances
Scheeler is also buoyed by his profession’s accomplishments and the evolution of the international practice of architecture, particularly over the last two decades. Scheeler retired from the AIA staff in 1990 but continues to serve as resident fellow, international relations. Until November 2002, he served as the co-director and secretary of the International Union of Architects Professional Practice Commission, for which the AIA and the Architectural Society of China act as joint secretariat. Although he retired as the commission’s co-director, Scheeler continues to serve as a participating member.

“There are absolutely fascinating challenges,” he says. For example, after years of work establishing the guiding principles and framework agreements, the UIA Assembly adopted the first edition of the UIA Accord on Recommended International Standards of Professional Architectural Practice. By this action, an accord was established as the policy recommendations to guide the ongoing work of the UIA and the Professional Practice Committee.

In subsequent years, Scheeler, a former Fulbright Scholar, has spearheaded the effort to reach consensus among more than 100 UIA-member sections on the first international standards for the profession that will become a starting point for bilateral and multilateral negotiations to achieve mutual recognition agreements and portability of professional credentials.

Scheeler has spearheaded the effort to reach consensus among over 100 UIA-member sections on the first international standards for the profession

“The profession is so far ahead in terms of trade issues and professional solidarity,” Scheeler says. “We are past the point of going back. The agreement deals with architecture but also with the profession and the culture of the professional … As opportunities for international practice have expanded so has the work of the UIA and so has our work as an Institution.”

And going . . .
Scheeler’s dedication is not, of course, alien to architects. After moving to Washington, D.C., with his family, Scheeler served the AIA in a number of executive staff positions including AIA executive vice president, president of the AIA Corporation, president of Production Systems for Architects & Engineers, and president of the AIA Research Corporation. He served on the Board of the National Center for a Barrier Free Environment from 1978-1981 and was its president in 1981.

Scheeler was honored with the AIA’s 2000 Edward C. Kemper Award, given for a lifetime of service to the profession and the Institute

In recognition for his role in leading the UIA to a significant level of international accomplishment in its first eight years, Scheeler was honored with the AIA’s 2000 Edward C. Kemper Award, given for a lifetime of service to the profession and the Institute. Additionally, Scheeler was elected to honorary membership in the Federacion de Colegios de Arquitectos del la Republica Mexicana in 1990, fellowship in the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 1998, honorary membership in the Japan Institute of Architects in 1999, and honorary fellowship in the Korean Institute of Architects in 2006. His work has also significantly advanced work in international architecture education validation and other international practice issues. Earlier this year, Scheeler was honored by the Panamericana de Asociaciones de Arquitectos with its 2007 Juan Torres Higueras Award for contributions to Pan-American architectural practice.

Far from his cherished rural Illinois roots, Scheeler enthuses that his career path has afforded him the opportunity to be involved with the culture of the profession in an international arena. “The culture has changed a lot in my lifetime. The architect has a public charge to be concerned about the culture and the health, safety, and welfare of the public. These challenges, for me, are something to which I can look forward in my future.”