AIASF's 4th Symposium

Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning, & Matrices

AIA San Francisco proudly presents its fourth Symposium, Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices on October 29, 2016 at the San Francisco Art Institute. The conversation that began as an exploration of the “missing 32%” and the lack of women leaders in architecture has become an international movement with a much broader depth. Equity by Design is focused on achieving equitable practice in architecture in order to retain talent, advance the profession, and engage the public in understanding architecture’s true value and impact. Equity's impact in the designed and built environment has the potential to improve the quality of life, reinforce sustainability and concurrently benefit the economic outcomes of the communities that adopt it.

This year’s symposium theme “Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning, and Matrices” builds upon the last five years of advocacy and sets an exciting path for our next chapter. Check out our schedule of events.

Why Equity in Architecture Matters.

Equity is the ethos of our work. It is the ability to recognize difference and provide fair and just access to opportunities. Equity also speaks to a collective ownership, vested interest and knowledge of our worth. Equitable practice promotes the recruitment and retention of the most diverse talent while building stronger, successful, sustainable practices. The equitable representation of professionals allows us to better represent the people we are meant to serve. Equity is for everyone - architects, design collaborators, clients, and our communities.

We must leverage metrics to make any substantial progress towards changing the ratios within our profession. We are committed to conduct research and compare data occurring at regular intervals to track progress and maintain accountability over time. In order to move the needle, we must create benchmarks for comparison and make time to review, discuss, and adjust our course of action based on the findings.

We seek meaning at many levels in the discovery of significance in one’s career, in the personal connections we make with others, in our own reflection upon research findings that can positively transform the workplace culture. Having meaningful work plays a significant role in improving professional satisfaction, increasing talent retention, and raising awareness of architecture’s true value within our global society.

We can adopt matrices to inspire a new mindset for advocacy and action. By nature, we are makers, observers of patterns, problem solvers, creators of connections, and synthesizers of dissimilar elements. Matrices enable us to become originators of new approaches and constructs. We can create more equitable environments within architectural practice and the places we design.

At the symposium this fall, we will present the early findings of the 2016 Equity in Architecture Survey through a series of panel discussions throughout the day. Between these sessions designed a series of diverse and interactive break-out workshops with a framework that encourages participants to engage in a dialogue of what is meaningful in their career experiences. And most importantly, we will experience the power and impact of action by learning and leveraging matrices as individuals, firms and in our professional networks.

Thanks to our Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices Symposium Sponsors!

For a full list of Equity by Design 2016 Sponsors and Partners, visit the EQxD Sponsorship page.

Gold Sponsorship "Champions" - $5,000+

Silver Sponsorship "Mentors" - $2,500 +

Bronze Sponsorship "Collaborators" - $1,500

Our sponsorship drive for the October 29, 2016 Equity by Design: Metrics, Meaning & Matrices Symposium is closed. Please consider supporting our work and our next chapter for equitable practice, diversity and inclusion in in 2017 and beyond. To date, we Thank all the national firms and allied sponsors who have helped us to reach our goals!

Equity in Architecture 2016 Survey