• home
  • chevron_right
  • Courses
  • chevron_right
  • Economic Update: Q1 2024 ABI Insights

Economic Update: Q1 2024 ABI Insights

AIAU24-ECON01R
Included in subscription Included in subscription
1 LU
5.00
Course expires on: 01/22/2026
$0

Member Price

$0

Non-member Price

Sign in to purchase chevron_right

Description

Join AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, and AIA President Kimberly Dowdell, AIA, NOMAC, for our quarterly conversation about the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI). The ABI is a leading monthly economic indicator that uses proprietary AIA data to predict nonresidential construction activity 9–12 months ahead. Get ahead of emerging challenges and opportunities and inform your strategic planning with key insights into the industry’s latest economic data and trends

Learning Objectives

check

Develop a better understanding of forces shaping our economy.

check

Describe the latest economic conditions and what they mean for architectural practice.

check

Discuss what the ABI can tell architecture firms about business conditions over the coming year and make decisions.

check

Examine strategic issues impacting the architectural and construction industry.

This free course is brought to you through a partnership with Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope. By registering for this course, you grant AIAU permission to share your name and email address with Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope.

Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope logo

Instructors
Kermit Baker
Ph.D., Hon. AIA

Kermit Baker, PhD, Hon. AIA is a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, and is the Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program. This research effort, which began in 1995, is the first comprehensive analysis of U.S. remodeling activity ever undertaken by the Joint Center. Its goal is to develop an improved understanding of the dynamics of the U.S. repair and renovation industry so that businesses can better take advantage of the opportunities that this market offers. Baker is also the Chief Economist for the American Institute of Architects in Washington, D.C. In this capacity he analyzes business and construction trends for the U.S. economy, and examines their impact on AIA members and the architectural profession.

Prior to joining the Joint Center, Baker was vice-president and director of the economics department at Reed Business Information where he was responsible for industry forecasting. During his ten years at Reed he developed the Top U.S. Construction Market Report, and served as editor of the Reed Business Information's Construction Market Forecast newsletter.

Baker received his master's degree in urban planning from Harvard University, and holds a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the same field.

Kimberly Dowdell
AIA

Kimberly Dowdell is a licensed architect and urban thought leader who is focused on building resilient, healthy, and sustainable cities. A native of Detroit, Kimberly’s passion for design as a catalyst for urban revitalization was inspired by childhood experiences in her hometown. She went on to live in Ithaca, Rome, Washington, New York, and Boston prior to returning to Detroit in 2015, where she worked on neighborhood-scale reinvestment efforts until her relocation to Chicago in 2019. Kimberly’s professional mission is to improve the quality of life for people living in cities. She believes in building diverse, cross-sector teams to solve our society’s most complicated challenges with a lens towards justice and equity. She is the 2019-2020 National President of NOMA and a Principal in the Chicago studio of HOK, a global architecture and planning firm.  

Similar courses

card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Setting Fees
This course takes a detailed look at setting fees, providing you with in-depth understanding of the impact of risk and the value of the services architects provide.  You will learn "top-down", "bottom-up" and 'staff level" methods for building fees, with additional discussion of creating and managing contingencies properly.   Course expires on 5/21/2026.

1.00 LU
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Why is Accessibility So Hard?
Accessible design is inherently challenging because it’s not a "settled science." Standards are constantly evolving—sometimes even in conflict with one another. This course will cut through the confusion. Our discussion/exploration will: Review compliance missteps and achievements in real-world scenarios Identify phases of the design process where various concerns are best addressed Help you create a clear plan for accessibility success Address questions, comments, and concerns from members like you Hear from accessibility experts and learn from the experiences of your peers in this clarifying course. Course expires on 4/19/2026.

1.00 LU|HSW
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Disruptive Small Firm Practices: Innovative Models for Expanding Services
A disruptive innovation helps create a new market and value network. In this course, three professionals will demonstrate how firms can utilize these innovations to expand into more sustainable and resilient business models beyond traditional architecture. Learn how to: Utilize tools to re-conceptualize your firm's expanded services offerings Determine how expanded services integrate with your current business models Develop strategies for marketing expanded services to new and existing architectural clients Consider how expanded services augment opportunities for traditional architectural services offerings Course expires on 1/2/2026.

1.00 LU
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Accessible Architecture: Designing for Success (Part 2)
To get your projects right the first time, design and accessibility should go hand-in-hand. In this 3 part course, you'll learn the best practices for accessibility covering emerging trends, everyday mistakes made by contractors and architects and the best way to prepare drawings to get it right the first time. Don't let ADA compliance issues set you back and cost you money! Find out what it takes to avoid common mistakes and design for ADA compliance to the letter of the law. In Part 2, go in depth on compliance issues regarding accessible routes, ramps, parking spaces, protruding objects, doors and clear floor space, controls, and counters. Typical design issues will be highlighted regarding convenience stores, gas stations, and other retail outlets as well as specific cases involving owner decisions which negate ADA compliance. Course expires 5/22/2025

1.25 LU|HSW
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Business of Architecture: Finance and Risk Management for Architects
This course explores concepts related to the finances in running an architecture firm and risk management. Large firms, small firms as well as sole practitioners need financial plans and risk management plans to sustain their practices, relationships and livelihood. Risk management should be embedded into the DNA of any firm or project. Learn high level ideas related to capitalization and investing and how you can apply them using the ABC’s of finance (Agreements, Budgets & Billing, and Collections) as well as key principles and considerations in managing risk at both the firm and project levels. Course expires 05/30/2025

1.50 LU
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Copy-Catting: Intellectual Property Principles and Rights
This course instructs architects and other design professionals about principles of intellectual property law as they relate to the creation, reproduction and use of original drawings, specifications and other documents. It is based on the premise that every design professional should have a solid working knowledge of intellectual property law, particularly copyright law, as it affects their work products and their use of other people’s work products. The issues have to do with compensation, professional credit and professional liability and are very important to the business of architecture. Course expires 4/19/2025

1.00 LU|HSW
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
AIA Entrepreneur Summit 2015: New Models
Within the context of business models, what are the characteristics that would make someone a successful entrepreneur? What are the obstacles for architects to break out of our traditional model? Economics plays a central role in our ability to expand services or take our practice in new directions.  Our expert panel, moderated by AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker, considers ways in which architects can create new sources of revenue by expanding their practices in different ways and embracing new models for doing business.  Questions explored include how architects are uniquely suited to development, key measures for exploring development opportunities, and factors influencing the decision process around undertaking a new business venture.   This cutting-edge discussion will inspire and enlighten you. This course expires on 4/20/2026.  

1.50 LU
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Implementing the 2012 IECC for Commercial Construction
The 2012 edition of the International Energy Conservation Code has been adopted by AHJs in many parts of the country. The 2012 IECC is a quantum leap forward in building performance and will have a significant impact on how architects and engineers work together to design high energy efficient, high performance buildings. In this course, speakers illustrate the changes in the code affecting architecture design and give an in depth look into the building science and physics behind the the changes and how they will result in significant energy reductions. They will emphasize that the process to achieve compliance must be a team effort among all members of the project early on and describe how to demonstrate compliance with the code and advantages and disadvantages for each pathway. This course is presented in collaboration with AIA Middle Tennessee, which produced the course and provided it for delivery on AIAU.  Course expires 5/22/2025

2.00 LU|HSW
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Profit…then Art: 12 Steps to Building a Successful Small Firm
How many architects have you met who said that they got into architecture for money? More often than not, the element of creativity and design was the #1 motivating aspect for someone in the profession. But should it be? After viewing this course, you may become an architect who sees the word “profit” in a different way. Taking the steps and setting the foundation for a strong, healthy, profitable business can lead to an architect having the freedom to create art and more of it. This course presents the basic 12 fundamentals essential to a successful business in architecture, describing how they work and how to apply them in a small firm environment

1.00 LU
card_membership Included in subscription
Included in subscription
Business Strategy
Keynote speaker Jim Cramer and a panel of experts in the business of architecture offer insightful analysis on the state of the profession as well as the fundamentals and entrepreneurial possibilities of a solid business strategy. Questions considered include: business education for emerging professionals, factors limiting small firm success, alternative career paths, and opportunities architects have to expand their services beyond the traditional design firm. This is a master class in business strategy for practitioners, providing insight and inspiration for anyone interested in improving the way they do business. Course expires 4/20/2025

1.50 LU