March 5, 2025
Reading Time: 2 minutes
AIA National Headquarters Construction Progress
The original brutalist building is more than 50 years old, and has only had very minor renovations over the years.
- The renovation project began in 2020
- The project is expected to be one of the first major renovations in the U.S. to be fully decarbonized
- The renovation includes:
- Electrifying the original building systems
- Using renewable energy
- Creating an educational opportunity for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
- Redesigning the interior to eliminate hierarchical spaces
- Making executive areas more accessible
The original AIA headquarters building was designed by The Architects Collaborative. The building is known for its Brutalist style.
This project was postponed during the recession of 2008 and started again in 2020, and finally broke ground in Fall of 2023. The renovation includes two floors of AIA office space, one floor with a flexible, convertible board room, reception/ break-out space and offices for NOMA, AIAS and ACSA, one floor for the store (now located along New York Ave, with an exterior door) a gallery, reception area and rentable private function space and a lower level with locker rooms/ showers, gender neutral bathrooms, archives and more.
This project is prioritizing LEED and WELL design goals, expecting to achieve Platinum and Gold status, respectively. Many of our allied business partners like Kohler and Armstrong, have donated product throughout the building. Some of the major design goals include making the building more welcoming to the public and available for tours and shopping, improving accessibility, unifying the campus between The Octogon and the HQ building, increasing rentable function space in the building and increasing flexibility in the spaces the AIA uses for conducting business and events, in the hopes of the building and its amenities becoming an income generator.
The architecture firm EHDD led the renovation of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) headquarters in Washington, D.C. Other firms involved in the project include:
-
Hood Design Studio
A consultant based in Oakland, California
-
Hartman-Cox Architects
A consultant based in Washington, D.C.
-
Point Energy Innovations
A consultant that helped decarbonize the building
-
Turner Construction Company
The general contractor
We learned that the first wave of furniture is expected to be installed in April, with AIA staff expected to inhabit the 4th floor in June 2025, and the other floors following. The current “secret” tenant on floors 5, 6 and 7 has continued occupancy during construction and will be staying after AIA returns to the building. The tour and construction are provided by the
Turner Construction Company !
By Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, AIA NJ Advocacy Consultant | Posted in AIA-NJ News | Tagged: #AIA, #AIAHillDay, #AIAHQ, #AIALeeds25, #designadvocacy, #sustainability, #Turnerconstructioncompany, #WELL, LEED, Resiliency | Comments (0)
