AIA Shanghai wishes everyone a happy peaceful Chinese New Year and looks forward to a prosperous year of the Ox.

We are planning an active year for our chapter and will kick off events starting in March.

AIA Hong Kong's 2021 theme, "Serve and inspire," celebrates distinguished service in our community to inspire a new generation of citizen architects. Following our recently completed 2021-25 Strategic Blueprint, the Chapter aims to support and grow our membership by investing in members' services.

Past Chapter Presidents gather for annual meeting

A Chapter tradition for the past several years, the annual AIA Japan President Club meeting was held via Zoom on February 11, with eight past presidents and 2021 President Segene Park in attendance.

AIA Middle East Co-Founder, Past President and Executive Director Sherif Anis, FAIA elevated to the College of Fellows

The fellowship program was developed to elevate those architects who have achieved a standard of excellence in the profession and made a significant contribution to architecture and society on a national and international level.

After the widely acclaimed AIA UK + RIBA Keynote Lecture by Francis Kéré, and the final 2020 virtual building tour in December, the AIA UK kicked off 2021 still in high gear. The 6th of January new board orientation virtual meeting reviewed our events of the past year, and outlined the Chapter’s goals for the year ahead.

AIA Canada in 2020

This year saw the launch of the first ever AIA Canada Design Awards. Please go here to view the winners: https://aiacanadasociety.org/design-awards/.

We held our AGM on November 12.

AIA Shanghai has had a good conclusion to a challenging year – we filled out our fourth quarter with a series of in-person and online events, concluding with our chapter officer elections and Design Awards Reception.

AIA Hong Kong presented 2020 Honors and Awards to five projects on November 12. The jurors selected projects that promote a sustainable, diverse, and inclusive community, advocating for change and positive impacts on our society. The only Honor Award this year was for the HKFYG PH2 Tai Po Youth Hostel for design excellence in promoting low-income housing and acting as an inspiring incubator. The Chapter also revived the Architecture Firm Award. This award has not been made since 2004 and was presented this year to Ronald Lu & Partners for their contribution to the profession and to the community at large.

AIA Japan hosted an online lecture by Brian Lee, FAIA on October 15 as its 8th online event this year. Brian Lee, currently a consulting partner at SOM, presented some of his most notable projects in all scales, domestic and international.

Overview

Architects from 27 countries formed the International Union of Architects in 1948. Their purpose: to unify the profession, influence policies shaping buildings and communities, and advance society through architecture and urban design.

Today, with some 130 national member sections, the UIA is the only global organisation representing the world’s 3.2 million architects.

The AIA International Region Conference held November 17-21 is now available on demand. There are more than 50 different events available for continuing education credits. To view the full line-up, see https://www.aiainternational.org/virtual-conference-schedule

Dear Colleagues,

The AIA International Region Virtual Conference has been a resounding success! We had nearly 3,000 registrants from 90 different countries who enjoyed more than 50 superb presentations. The breadth and quality was truly outstanding. Many people have said it was the best AIA event, live or online, that they had ever attended! The event only happened because of a concerted global effort, and the energy and enthusiasm were fantastic. This shows the amazing possibilities of what we can achieve when we work together. All of the conference sessions are available on-demand [here] and are eligible for continuing education credits.

This summer, we launched the first ever AIA Canada Honor and Merit Design Awards and AIA Canada Student Award “New Talent Discovery of the Year”. Submissions closed on September 30th, 2020.

AIA Continental Europe continues to spotlight our Corporate Partners. We are happy to present here the latest episode of ABB's Frozen Music video series.

The AIA IR is in full-flow getting ready for the Virtual Conference on Nov 17-21. It is fantastic to see the energy and passion that is being put into it by so many people! The range of speakers and topics is phenomenal. Speakers include B.V. Doshi, Moshe Safdie, Jeanne Gang, Jan Gehl, Sandra Barclay, Annabelle Seldorf, and many others. Please register today and be part of it!

The AIA International Practice Committee (IPCAG) is a standing committee charged by the AIA Board of Directors to monitor global practice and related governmental policies that impact international practice.

AIA Middle East Design Awards Program

In a world undergoing tremendous change accelerated by a global pandemic of unprecedented scale, the human assault on the environment continues to place future generations in jeopardy. Architects must once more reinforce efforts towards designing sustainable built environments at all scales, especially in an increasingly digitizing & automating world.

Thank you for supporting our Honors and Awards Program. Despite the unprecedented challenges we are all facing this year, we are pleased to see many of you invested time and effort into preparing an outstanding collection of entries. This year, we received almost same number of submissions as we did in 2019, an inspiring testament to the industry's recognition of the AIA Hong Kong award.

The annual AIA UK Bike Tour is a well-attended affair, and this year was no exception. Local designers joined tour leader, architect and historian, Ben O’Looney, for an 8-hour excursion along the Thames to learn about flood mitigation strategies, industrial conservation and new developments along its length.