The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) is an independent, nonprofit, student-run organization dedicated to providing unmatched progressive programs, information, and resources on issues critical to architecture and the experience of education.
It is constituted by:
1- Local quads in the US,
2- International branches, or chapters,
And is the sole student voice in the collateral discussion and decision-making process that include:
- The American Institute of Architects (AIA);
- The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA);
- The National Council of Architecture Registration Boards (NCARB), and;
- The National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB).
AIAS USEK Chapter 11:
The establishment of the USEK Chapter was a must in order to take part in the AIAS web, benefit from its facilities, and interact with its worldwide family.
The main objectives include:
- Urging and creating a variety of extracurricular activities for fellow students.
- Stimulating teamwork, involvement and networking.
- Creating an exchange platform: Student/Student & Student/Teacher - Newcomers/Older Students/Alumni – University/University – AIAS USEK Chapter/AIAS chapters in the region.
- Publishing students’ work on committee and professional platforms (such as NGOs, and the Order of Engineers and Architects in Lebanon)
- Broadening opportunities through participation in international events.
2019 AIAS International Conference:
The AIAS USEK Chapter will be hosting the second AIAS international Conference from March 5 to March 9, 2019. This Conference acts as a continuation and development of the success of last year’s conference, which was held in Dubai.
It essentially provides an opportunity for international members to gather and create a strong and unified AIAS community, and simultaneously launch a debate between students and professionals against a backdrop of conferences, roundtables, and workshops.
Theme Presentation: LAYER 21
The theme of the AIAS 2019 International Conference in Lebanon aims to showcase various Lebanese cities and the many civilizations that impacted on them, as well as to explore the urban palimpsest, which highlights the authentic and complex identity of modern-day Lebanon.
Situation:
The iceberg effect, whereby what exists on the outside is much too small in comparison with what exists on the inside, explains that understanding all that lies under the surface (past) is the only way to develop what appears to the naked eye (present).
Therefore, the apparent chaos has only emerged as a result of agglomeration and re-agglomeration, the fusion of the old and the new, involving the 20 layers of cultures that have constructed and re-constructed Lebanon over time, leading up to today’s urban schizophrenia, and confirming that paradox can – in fact – create one entity, one identity, one nation.
Result:
This process creates fragmentations in the heart of the city, which can take the shape of a confrontation between the inhabitants, cities, and politics among others, sometimes leading to a rupture of the urban fabric.
When a nation has been stigmatized throughout centuries by the multiple successive civilizations weaving and unweaving the urban environment, how will this 21st century generation interact with the past strata, and simultaneously evolve in order to leave the perception of its imprint as the 21st layer?