Welcome toAIA Dallas
About our Chapter
AIA Dallas is the 6th largest AIA chapter in the nation with over 2,500 members and 150 Allied members. We are an inclusive gathering place for our members, a vital community resource, and staunch advocates for professional architecture and design.
members, clients,
and the community.
Through more than 100 programs per year, AIA Dallas provides members access to career development, leadership, and networking opportunities. And we proudly celebrate architecture in the communities we serve with public-facing events, as well as through our Architecture and Design Foundation.
Our History
The AIA (American Institute of Architects) was founded in 1857 with the goal of creating an architecture organization that would “promote the scientific and practical perfection of its members” and “elevate the standing of the profession.” Even as the scope of AIA has evolved through the years, this remains the core purpose.
In Dallas, the Dallas Society of Architects formed in 1911, and the Dallas Architectural Club in 1920; both merged into the AIA North Texas chapter, created in 1924. Subsequently, the North Texas chapter was divided into the Panhandle, Fort Worth, Northeast Texas, and Dallas chapters toward the end of 1946. We recognize January 1, 1947, as the official founding of AIA Dallas.
Architecture and Design Foundation & AD EX
In 1984, AIA Dallas established the AIA Dallas Foundation, a 501c3 organization, to support the future of the profession by providing scholarships for students pursuing degrees in architecture. In 2008, the name was changed to the Dallas Center for Architecture Foundation. In 2018, the Foundation received its current name, the Architecture and Design Foundation, to reflect our expanded mission to create meaningful connections between AIA, AIA Dallas, and the public by fostering access to architecture and design for all.
Today, the Foundation supports this mission through raising funds for scholarships and fellowships for North Texas high school students, college students, and young professionals; and by funding programs, exhibitions, and operations at the Foundation’s current home, the Dallas Architecture and Design Exchange, also known as the AD EX, located at Republic Center in downtown Dallas.