Elizabeth Chu Richter, FAIA, elected 2015 AIA President

Delegates to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) national convention in Denver elected Elizabeth Chu Richter (AIA Corpus Christi) to serve as the 2014 AIA first vice president/president-elect and 2015 AIA president. James Easton Rains, Jr., FAIA, and Thomas V. Vonier, FAIA, will each serve as vice president from 2014 through 2015; and James P. Grounds, AIA, as the Institute’s Treasurer from 2014 through 2015.

Currently a member of the AIA National Board of Directors representing Texas, Richter was president of the Texas Society of Architects in 2007. With the National AIA component, she has taken a strong interest in rewarding design excellence, serving on design juries, as chair of the AIA Gold Medal and Firm Award Advisory jury, a member of the AIA Regional and Urban Design Award jury, and multiple AIA component design awards juries. Her own design contributions were recognized in 2001, when she received an AIA Young Architects Award.

Richter is the CEO of Richter Architects in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her firm offers a wide variety of master planning, programming, design, interior design, construction documents, construction administration, and construction management services. Richter Architects received the 2011 Texas Society of Architects Firm Award.

“I’m hoping that my leadership will help bring the AIA into a more member-focused future, building greater public engagement and understanding, while also refining the Institute’s leadership structure and operation focus, said Richter. “More than ever, the repositioned AIA will be highly valued and globally relevant in its service to society in building a better world.”

James Easton Rains, Jr., FAIA Elected 2014-15 AIA Vice President

Mr. Rains Jr., FAIA, from AIA North Carolina, was elected 2014-2015 AIA Vice President at the AIA National Convention in Denver. Rains was the president of AIA Wilmington in 1996, president of AIA North Carolina in 2006, and became a member of the AIA National Board of Directors in 2010. In 2011, he helped lead the AIA’s national advocacy efforts by chairing the ArchiPAC Steering Committee, which guides the AIA’s bipartisan political action committee.

Thomas V. Vonier, FAIA Elected 2014-15 AIA Vice President

Mr. Vonier, FAIA, from AIA Continental Europe, was elected 2014-2015 AIA Vice President at the AIA National Convention in Denver. The founder and past president of AIA Continental Europe from 1994 to 1995, Vonier served on the AIA Board of Directors representing the AIA International Region from 2010-2012.

John P. Grounds, AIA, Elected 2014-15 AIA Treasurer

Grounds, AIA, from AIA D.C., was elected 2014-2015 AIA Treasurer at the AIA National Convention in Denver. Grounds began his involvement in AIA leadership in California, where he was AIA San Fernando Valley’s president in 2002. With AIA California Council, he became the co-chair for its planning and finance committee from 2006-2008, and eventually its president in 2009. After relocating to Washington, D.C., Grounds continued serving the Institute with financial management leadership as a member of the finance and audit committee from 2010 to 2012 while he was a regional director on the AIA National Board.

About The American Institute of Architects

Founded in 1857, members of the American Institute of Architects consistently work to create more valuable, healthy, secure, and sustainable buildings, neighborhoods, and communities. Through nearly 300 state and local chapters, the AIA advocates for public policies that promote economic vitality and public well being. Members adhere to a code of ethics and conduct to ensure the highest professional standards. The AIA provides members with tools and resources to assist them in their careers and business as well as engaging civic and government leaders, and the public to find solutions to pressing issues facing our communities, institutions, nation and world. Visit www.aia.org.

Spending on nonresidential buildings will see a modest 4% increase in 2024, after increasing by more than 20% last year according to The American Institute of Architects’ latest Consensus Construction Forecast. The pace will slow to just over 1% growth in 2025, a marked difference from the strong performance in 2023.

Giants 400 | Jan 23, 2024

Top 110 Medical Office Building Architecture Firms for 2023

SmithGroup, CannonDesign, E4H Environments for Health Architecture, and Perkins Eastman top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest medical office building architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Giants 400 | Jan 22, 2024

Top 100 Outpatient Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

HDR, CannonDesign, Stantec, Perkins&Will, and ZGF top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest outpatient facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes design revenue for work related to outpatient medical buildings, including cancer centers, heart centers, urgent care facilities, and other medical centers.

Construction Costs | Jan 22, 2024

Construction material prices continue to normalize despite ongoing challenges

Gordian’s most recent Quarterly Construction Cost Insights Report for Q4 2023 describes an industry still attempting to recover from the impact of COVID. This was complicated by inflation, weather, and geopolitical factors that resulted in widespread pricing adjustments throughout the construction materials industries.

Transit Facilities | Jan 22, 2024

Top 40 Transit Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

Perkins&Will, HDR, Gensler, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and HNTB top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest transit facility architecture and architecture engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in the 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes design revenue for work related to bus terminals, rail terminals, and transit stations.

Hotel Facilities | Jan 22, 2024

U.S. hotel construction is booming, with a record-high 5,964 projects in the pipeline

The hotel construction pipeline hit record project counts at Q4, with the addition of 260 projects and 21,287 rooms over last quarter, according to Lodging Econometrics.