Summary: Of course, there’s nothing to compare with being there and networking with colleagues to derive the full benefit of the AIA 2009 National Convention and Design Exposition, and, yet, there are three other options that will give you a connection to your fellow professionals and access to continuing education credits: single-day registration, Expo-floor-only registration, and, as a new feature, live streaming video on your office/home computer of more than a dozen programs, including all three theme-session presentations.

Ever since the first AIA national convention in 1867, it has been the goal of all involved AIA members to be at this event. It was there in Boston in November 1871 that members discussed the lessons learned from the Great Chicago Fire that occurred only a month before. In 1891, Richard Morris Hunt unveiled the plan for the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago (without once mentioning exposition organizer Daniel Burnham, incidentally). In 1899, in Pittsburgh, William Jenney presented a paper on skeletal steel structures and the floating slab he developed for the Home Insurance Building in Chicago—the first skyscraper.

And in the most ignoble of times, during the 1932 national convention in Washington, D.C., AIA President Robert D. Kohn addressed a time worse than today, although the parallel is hard to miss:

"Unemployment among architects and draftsmen is so great that it is difficult for us to keep up our courage. The immediate need has not been neglected as is evidenced by the honorable record of the emergency committees organized by architects throughout the country to help to find work of some kind and food for those most in need; marking great sacrifices to avoid at least the worst results of enforced idleness. In this emergency it seems proper to press for an extension in the program, not a decrease, of public works so as to provide work for the unemployed which would appear to be the only way out."

Opportunities in San Francisco
A skip to today reveals a continuation of innovation with several late-breaking developments in the curriculum and delivery of knowledge. For example, the 2009 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition now includes a Navigating the Economy suite of learning opportunities.

Visit AIAConvention.com to plug into many other learning tracks as well, including architectural tours of one of the world’s premiere destination cities, dozens of networking venues, and the exposition of more than 850 vendors with distinct products and services to help your practice thrive. You can register for a half-day or full-day pre-convention workshop plus all three days of the convention program, the three days only, or register for a single day, depending on how your schedule fits with the convention offerings.

Especially for local architects and related professionals, an additional draw is the Design Exposition, with registration open to all interested design professionals. With continuing education opportunities available on the exhibit floor, hundreds upon hundreds of booths exhibiting the latest in architecturally related products and services, and direct connection to the resources of the AIA national component, one can easily spend an entire day on the expo floor exploring all that is new in the profession.

And for members who simply cannot partake of the professional exchange in San Francisco, the convention team is currently working on developing a live video link to the three AIA theme presentations and 11 of the most popular sessions [LINK to chart below] on navigating the economy and sustainability. With the peer-review mechanism for testing a viewer’s perception of the learning objectives, AIA/CES learning units will be available through this medium as well. Details will follow.

A legacy of collegial accomplishment
For more than a century and a half, architects have come together in strength and in common support to mold and temper a strong profession—and there has been no more reinforcing venue than the AIA national convention.

Be there … make history.