Past AAO Events

The Association of Architecture Organizations conducts year-round programs for its members, as well as select events for the general public. The primary function of these activities is to provide educators and representatives from architectural organizations with a forum for networking, resource sharing, and joint learning.

AAO Exhibition Sharing Committee February 2019 Meeting

Fit Nation

During the 2018 Design Matters Conference in Seattle this past November, a number of long-time AAO members voiced their interest in establishing a committee to exchange timely updates and information concerning traveling exhibitions suitable for display at AAO member sites.

AAO Board member and Executive Director of AIA New York/Center for Architecture Benjamin Prosky will chair this ad hoc committee, which is open to all current AAO members.

2018 Design Matters Conference

2018 Design Matters Conference, Nov 14-17, Seattle

The Design Matters Conference is the world’s only dedicated annual meeting that seeks to bring top designers, journalists, and civic leaders into exploratory dialogue with those not-for-profit professionals and volunteers charged with creating cultural programs (exhibitions, tours, lectures and symposia, festivals and films, youth outreach) to spur broader public interest in architecture, urbanism, and culture.

AAO Webinar: Creating an Architecture Center

For the next AAO Webinar, we’ll have speakers from three architecture centers that have either recently opened or plan to open soon: Seattle Center for Architecture & Design, Architecture Center Houston, and the Lipsey Buffalo Architecture Center.

AAO Webinar: Leveraging Local Networks

Thursday, May 4, 2017
11:00 AM CDT
 

The next AAO webinar is about the power of collaboration. Six nonprofits in Pittsburgh offer K-12 architectural education programs of one stripe or another, so they joined together to form the Architecture Learning Network (ALN) to help high school students navigate their options. What began with a shared calendar listing grew into a system of learning pathways and digital badges thanks to a grant from the Sprout Fund.

AAO Webinar: The Value of Docent-Led Architecture Tours

Architecture Tour
Thursday, March 2
11am-Noon CST
 
The next AAO webinar will feature newly published research by AAO member Jason Nu, PhD, documenting the process of creating docent-led architecture tours, the emotional impact they make on pubic tourgoers, and why it’s such a powerful tool for promoting design. For his dissertation in the field of geography, Nu conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork on architecture tours using the Chicago Architecture Foundation as a case study.
 

AAO Webinar - Case Study for Public-Private Partnerships

Join us April 30, for the latest installment in our monthly webinar series. This month we will be investing the Market Street Prototyping Festival, an innovative partnership between the San Francisco Planning Department, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and dozens of artists and designers from across San Francisco. If you're interested in gaining practical tips about forging public-private partnerships, this is a helpful case study. Guest presenter for this webinar is Neil Hrushowy, Manager of the City Design Group within the San Francisco Planning Department.

2014 Design Matters Conference

2014 Design Matters Conference Logo

Many thanks to everyone who traveled to Washington, DC last week to participate in this year's DESIGN MATTERS CONFERENCE! We enjoyed some terrific architecture tours, memorable keynotes, and valuable time networking and sharing insights with peers from across the country. A full event wrap-up will be published soon.

2014 A+DEN Symposium

2014 A+DEN Symposium Header Image

This inaugural event held in summer 2014 saw AAO bring together K-12 Architecture and Design Educators from across the United States for 2.5 days of shared learning and networking. Activities included workshops, presentations, tours, and special receptions. The gathering was hosted by the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum outside Detroit, Michigan.

2014 Members Weekend

2014 AAO Members Weekend - March 13-16, 2014

Ever since roots for Modernism Week in Palm Springs were set down nearly a decade ago, architecture buffs and cultural tourists have been placing this destination on their proverbial bucket lists – a mecca for mid-century architecture and design and contemporary scholarship in these fields. And with this year’s AAO Members Weekend just days away we're excited to get the event underway!

2013 Conference

2013 AAO Conference collage

Making and Measuring IMPACT: The Value of Architecture and Design Organizations

BOSTON, MA – September 26-28

2013 Members Weekend

July 18-20, 2013 in Columbus, Indiana
Local Host: Columbus Area Visitors Center


Left to right: Large Arch (Henry Moore); North Christian Church (Eero Saarinen); Miller House Interior (Eero Saarinen and Alexander Girard). Photos: Columbus Area Visitors Center.

 

AAO 2012 Conference

More than 130 delegates came to Dallas, TX to discuss connecting people and place for the AAO 2012 conference. We covered topics from the impact of urban parks to community change through design partnerships to toolkit sessions that offered information on strategic planning and fundraising. We hope all participants left with a renewed sense of energy and new ideas to apply to their work.

2011 AAO Members' Weekend

Our annual AAO Members’ Weekend offers terrific opportunities to catch up with colleagues and spend time with the AAO Board of Directors, always in a unique architectural settings or the hometown of a fellow AAO Organizational Member that plays the role of local host. In summer 2011, we traveled to Anchorage, where directors from the Alaska Design Forum organized a very memorable stay.

Design in Action 2010 Conference

Thank you 2010 Conference Delegates! More than 160 delegates from across the United States and five countries converged on Chicago for a two-day conference of inspiring ideas and practical solutions. Keynotes were delivered by Next American City's John Cary, Architect Magazine Editor-in-Chief Ned Cramer, and British Council for School Environments' Director Ty Goddard. Practical learning sessions were directly guided by more than 20 AAO and A+DEN members, either sharing case studies of their work or lending "how to" advice for newcomers to the field.

2010 AAO Members Weekend at Taliesin East

A collegial group of 17 AAO community members was treated to a special weekend of private events, including dinner with the Taliesin Fellowship, tours of several Frank Lloyd Wright buildings on the campus, and an exclusive review of top students’ designs generated by a unique studio held at Taliesin. The weekend began with a wonderful dinner in a restored and repurposed old schoolhouse in the Wisconsin countryside outside Spring Green.