NCARB to rename the Intern Development Program

As part of a push to retire the term “intern,” the Intern Development Program (IDP) will be renamed the Architectural Experience Program (AXP), effective June 29, 2016.

Developed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the program is designed to guide aspiring architects through the early stages of their career so they can earn a license and practice architecture independently.

This decision was enacted by NCARB’s Board of Directors and is the result of over a year of research and outreach by various NCARB committees. Based on the recommendations of its Future Title Task Force, NCARB announced in May it would sunset the term “intern,” while preserving the title “architect” for licensed practitioners.

“Renaming the IDP is another step in realigning our programs to better reflect current practice and terminology,” said NCARB President Dennis Ward, AIA, NCARB. “For example, one firm may refer to a non-licensed employee as a ‘senior designer’ while another uses the title ‘project manager.’ Yet, neither is likely to introduce that individual to clients as an ‘intern.”

Since each state sets its own requirements for licensure, the program’s new name will carry an important caveat: “formerly known as the Intern Development Program, or IDP.” This language will accommodate existing laws or rules that refer to the program’s current name. Similarly, while NCARB will continue to refer to those working toward licensure as “aspiring architects” or “exam candidates,” licensing boards have the authority to prescribe their own terminology for unlicensed professionals.

The June launch of the new name will accompany the program’s realignment of experience areas. Over the next several months, NCARB will work with state licensing boards and the architectural community to implement these changes.

Click here for more information.

Earlier this month, my colleague and I presented a session to a group of civil engineers and transportation agencies about the tech trends in the AEC space. Along with advice on how to prepare your plan for controlled collaboration, we also talked through some practical use cases. One such use case was especially interesting, as it outlined a challenge not unfamiliar to government agencies who are contemplating the leap from paper to digital processes: how to securely migrate workflows.

For an 1893 academic building in the Collegiate Gothic style at Bryn Mawr (Pa.)

| Apr 16, 2014

Upgrading windows: repair, refurbish, or retrofit [AIA course]

Building Teams must focus on a number of key decisions in order to arrive at the optimal solution: repair the windows in place, remove and refurbish them, or opt for full replacement.

Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, East Lansing, Mich. Photo credit: Justin Macono

| Apr 15, 2014

12 award-winning structural steel buildings

Zaha Hadid's Broad Art Museum and One World Trade Center are among the projects honored by the American Institute of Steel Construction for excellence in structural steel design.

| Apr 15, 2014

First look: Zaha Hadid reveals designs for dreamy sculptural hotel - CORRECTED

Hadid's design, which will become the fifth hotel tower in the City of Dreams entertainment hub, features a latticed exoskeleton enveloping the building's exterior. The 40-floor, 150,000-square-foot space is envisioned as a monolith with voids carved throughout.

David Chipperfield Architects has won the Nobel Center architectural competition

| Apr 15, 2014

Chipperfield's sparkling brass-clad scheme selected to be new home of Nobel Prize

The distinctive building, with its shimmering vertical brass elements and glass façade design, beat out two other finalists in the Nobel Center architectural competition.