About

Celebrating 150 Years of AIA Baltimore

 

Let’s Get Creative! As the 6th oldest chapter of the American Institute of Architects, AIA Baltimore celebrates its 150th birthday in 2021. In recognition of this milestone, the AIA Baltimore and BAF Lecture Series Committee announce an invitation to submit a token of your love for Baltimore architecture. The goals of Building Love are to reflect on the built environment and values manifested in a building or space and to create a discourse among design professions and the public about qualities that make a building or space successful. This call for entries is free and open to the public, but limited to one entry per person.

How To Participate: Create one letter, poem, sketch or other creation of your favorite building or place in Baltimore in the format of a 4×6 postcard that will then be digitally collected. The submission should be original work and produced specifically for this. The postcard format below should be printed and cut out, with the submission created in the space it provides. The submission should describe the subject and why it is beloved in a visual or written way.

Deadline For Submissions: May 31, 2021
Follow BAF on  Instagram and see all of our submissions by searching the hashtag #AIABALT150BUILDINGLOVE
Learn More About Building Love

Get Started Here!

 

SAY IT LOUD Comes To Baltimore- Baltimore Architecture Foundation, AIA Baltimore, and Bmore NOMA announce SAY IT LOUD Maryland, an exhibition that will spotlight the contributions of diverse design professionals to the built environment. Created by Beyond the Built Environment, SAY IT LOUD will launch a virtual exhibition in Summer 2021 and a physical exhibition at the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design in Fall 2021. This will be the first major exhibition at the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design. The exhibition will be designed by Pascale Sablan, FAIA, founder of Beyond the Built Environment, and recipient of the 2021 AIA Whitney M. Young Jr. Award.

BIPOC and women architects, engineers, designers, students and planners who reside in Maryland or have projects in the state are encouraged to submit to be included in the virtual and physical exhibitions.

Join us for an informational session on how to apply on April 8th.

Interested in exhibiting? Learn how to apply here!

AIA Baltimore’s 150th Virtual Celebration

During this very special birthday party, participants heard from city and cultural leaders on the impact of Baltimore architecture and architects, learned about upcoming 2021 AIA Baltimore programs and opportunities, and enjoyed an afternoon of memorable toasts, history, and trivia!

Hear Our Well Wishes From:
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott
Jennifer Verbeke, AIA | AIA Maryland 2021 President
Cynthia Williams, AIA | AIA Cincinnati 2020 President
John B. Campbell, AIA, RIBA | AIA Philadelphia 2020 President

 

Upcoming 150th Programs

Visit Our 2021 Spring Lecture Series

Architecture is a manifestation of culture. On the occasion of AIA Baltimore’s 150th anniversary, the AIA Baltimore and Baltimore Architecture Foundation 2021 Lecture Series will explore how the built environment simultaneously reflects and influences culture, in Baltimore and beyond.  Each lecture will expose how cultural values shape design. The three lectures are focused around themes with specific local resonance in Baltimore, a city in which the arts and culture are key to community identity, history, and future vitality: Architecture and Identity, Art and Architecture, Architecture and Social Justice. Visiting and local speakers will examine and highlight the built environment and its relationship with the arts, community initiatives, sustainability goals, preservation, equity, the vernacular, and more, as we reflect on how these have been shaped by design practice throughout AIA Baltimore’s 150 year history.

Learn More

Baltimore Architecture Through The Ages [1870-2000’s]

The Baltimore Architecture Foundation is celebrating the history of AIA Baltimore in its 150th year by publishing select histories and highlights of Baltimore architecture from 1870 all the way through the 2000’s. These unique selections were written and edited by Charlie Duff and are published monthly.

Virtual Histories in 2021

Virtual Histories are back in 2021! The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present a series of 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history.

Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

As part of the celebration of AIA Baltimore’s 150th anniversary, we are hosting conversations with trailblazing architects in Baltimore, discussing their impact on the profession and our communities. Get tickets to our upcoming trailblazer Virtual Histories here:

Trailblazing Architects: Leon Bridges, FAIA, NOMA

Trailblazing Architects: Barbara Wilks & Kathleen Sherrill

Re-watch Our Favorite Virtual Histories That Celebrate Baltimore Architecture Through The Years:

Commemorative Monuments and Adaptive Use (Jackson Gilman-Forlini)
Baltimore’s Remarkable Infrastructure Gas Lamps to Clean Water (Tom Liebel)
Baltimore’s Treasures (Meg Fairfax Fielding)
Baltimore: The Home of America’s Best Garden Cities (Charles Duff)
Restoring the Roland Water Tower (Suzanne Frasier)
Roadblocks: The Effects of Highways In and Around Druid Hill Park
How Suffragists Built Baltimore’s First Recreation Center (Jackson Gilman-Forlini)


See All Our Upcoming Virtual Histories Programs

Contribute To The Center Fund For Our 150th!

As we enter our 150th year, consider giving a gift to The Center Fund. A monumental move for us means monumental opportunities, and we need your help to make the exciting opportunities ahead of us a reality. Our aim is to raise $1 million for The Center Fund, our capital campaign to sustain the Baltimore Center for Architecture and Design. Your individual contribution or firm/corporate sponsorship will match these funds to sustain costs for the design and construction and ongoing operations of the Center.

Contribute to the Center Fund by making a check out to “AIA Baltimore” and mailing it to:

AIA Baltimore
The Center for Architecture and Design
One Charles Center
100 N. Charles Street
Suite P-101
Baltimore, MD 21201

Learn more about our 2021 annual sponsorship opportunities here.