Austin Foundation for Architecture

Architecture in Schools

AIA Austin’s Architecture in Schools program was piloted in three Austin Independent School District (AISD) elementary schools in the spring of 2006 with the help of a grant from the American Architectural Foundation (AAF). With a team of 15 architects, intern architects and interior design members, the program was taught to third, fourth and fifth graders for a period of 9 consecutive weeks. Each grade’s TAKS approved curriculum builds on architectural principals starting with the house, followed by the neighborhood and finally city planning. In the fall of 2006, the piloted curriculum was rewritten by AIA Austin members to reflect “Austin’s architectural uniqueness” and introduced at four AISD schools. The program won much acclaim including AAF’s Award of Merit for Best Practices in K-12 Architectural Education, two years in a row.

With the success of the program, came the request to bring the program to more schools. AIA Austin’s Architecture in Schools program was proud to be the recipient of one of the first Austin Foundation for Architecture (AFA) grant awards in 2007 that provided funding to expand the program to the Round Rock Independent school district. One of the classes in Round Rock entered their city planning model in Topeka’s National AIA 150 competition and was awarded third place. By fall 2007, 7 schools were receiving AIA Austin’s Architecture in schools program. In 2008, a request was made to the AFA to sponsor a “Final Showcase Event’ at the University of Texas School of Architecture. A total of 315, third, fourth and fifth graders were provided bus transportation and refreshments to take a tour of UT’s SOA design studios, material labs, gallery and an exhibit of all the students work.