Practicing ArchitectureArchitect's Knowledge Resource
A Guide to Planning a Roundtable Education Program on Supplemental Architectural Services
The articles and presentations in the AIA’s Supplemental Architectural Services series can form the basis for an education program on the practice of architecture. Each contains bullet points on knowledge and skills, why clients need the deliverables, associated tasks, and the AIA Contract Document that can be used in conjunction with the service.
Create and market a dynamic program:
• Determine the program’s focus by selecting a supplemental service / set of services (see titles).
• Advertise the program.
• Ask attendees to read the article(s) in advance.
• Decide how the program will be moderated/facilitated.
• Choose a subset of the sample questions to guide the program. For a 60-minute program, use three or four questions. Think about which questions will be the most popular with your audience. You may want to distribute the questions in advance.
• Include the AIA’s Anti-trust Compliance Reminder: It is the practice of The American Institute of Architects and its members to comply strictly with all laws, including federal and state antitrust laws that apply to AIA operations and activities. Accordingly, this program will be conducted in full compliance with those laws.
Program format options:
• Option A:
Choose one service as the program’s focus. Invite a colleague to share how offering this service enhances a firm and improves professional development.
• Option B:
Choose a set of 4 related services as the program’s focus. Provide an overview of each service and moderate a question & answer session with participants.
Sample questions to spark discussion:
1. How do these services allow you to exercise your skills while contributing real value?
2. How do these services enable you to develop relationships with clients?
3. How do these services grow your practice?
4. How can you start offering these services utilizing AIA Contract Documents?
5. What supplemental architectural service interests you the most, and why?
6. What are three ways these services can be special projects for young professionals to nurture their development?
7. In what ways do architects “think outside the box” of traditional design and construction services?
8. What are some methods for matching services to target markets?
9. What factors are incentives for certain processes and technologies to become specialties?
10. Categorize the services into the phases of a project.
11. How do marketplace trends impact the offering of particular services?
12. What types of projects and/or project stages best fit this service?
13. How relevant are the author’s recommendations to your work?
14. Identify a key point in the article/presentation. How can architects and allied professionals apply it effectively?
15. What resources do you need in order to apply the concepts in the article/presentation?
16. What resources and services can you offer to your colleagues about how to apply the concepts in this article/presentation (e.g., lessons learned, templates, a follow-up conversation to delve more deeply into this topic)?
17. What are the opportunities for architects in this economic climate?
18. What are the challenges for architects in this economic climate?
19. Define your situation and describe how it compares with the author’s assessment of current professional practice issues.
20. What are the author’s key points? Which of the key points resonates most with you and your situation?
21. What is the key takeaway from this article/presentation?
22. What did you learn from this article/presentation? What are you most likely to do differently now?
23. Provide a real-life example that builds on the practice issue highlighted in the article/presentation.
24. What are the top three factors that will influence how easily the author’s suggestions can be implemented?
25. What is a barrier to implementing the author’s recommendations? How could you surmount that barrier?
26. What are you already doing well that is based on the ideas presented in this article/presentation?
27. What does this article/presentation tell us today that we can apply tomorrow?
28. Who can you work with to apply what you’ve learned from this article/presentation?
29. Explain how the author reinforces the knowledge you already have (in order to move forward in addressing the concerns presented in the article/presentation). Gives you a fresh perspective? An insight?
30. State in one word your gut reaction to this article/presentation.
(Prepared by the American Institute of Architects, July 2011)