Welcome to AIA Bucks County

Celebrating smart, beautiful and sustainable design solutions for the built environment.

A Grass Roots Effort

Eleven architects living in Bucks County split off from Philadelphia Chapter of AIA and incorporated their own local chapter of the AIA on February 1, 1961. National AIA had previously subdivided other chapters to form new local organizations. The formation of the Bucks County Chapter marked the first chapter to form from a grassroots effort. The AIA Bucks County Chapter currently has about 90 members and is an active community member.

A voice for architecture

The American Institute of Architects is the voice of the architectural profession and the resource for its members in service to society.

AIA Bucks County Events

November 20, 2024

Please join us, Stampfl Associates, and Amvic ICF at Langan Engineering on November 20th as we discuss the use of...

December 5, 2024

Annual Meeting, Election of 2025 Officers, 2025 Budget approval and Design Awards. SUBMISSIONS FOR DESIGN AWARDS ARE DUE NOV 13th...

October 30, 2024

Please join us and Wolstenholme Associates, LLC at the Carversville Inn on October 30th for a talk and tour of...

In The Community

AIA Bucks County Awards First George J. Donovan Memorial Scholarships

From left are: H. Joseph Phillips, AIA president; Julian Courtney-Bacher and Shannon Adams, scholarship recipients; Heather Donovan Phillips; and Catherine Donovan, George’s wife.
George J. Donovan Memorial Scholarships

The Bucks County Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently awarded its first scholarships to support the college education of two Bucks County high school seniors.  The first scholarship was awarded to George School senior Julian Courtney-Bacher. Julian will be studying architecture and engineering.  The second recipient is Shannon Adams from Central Bucks South. She will be pursuing a NAAB-accredited degree in architecture at Thomas Jefferson University. With the pursuit of a NAAB-accredited degree, she is eligible to receive an additional matching scholarship from AIA National.

The scholarship was created by the Bucks County AIA in memory of George J. Donovan, AIA who was instrumental in shaping the architecture of Bucks County with a career of over 50 years until his passing in 2018. George’s wife, daughter, and son-in-law were the presenters of the first award. The scholarship is made possible through donations to The Bucks County Foundation. Please consider donating: The Bucks County Foundation

The recipients were selected based on their past interest in architecture through related courses, an essay, and their GPA. Future scholarship applicants are encouraged to attend one of Bucks County AIA’s educational opportunities like the Design Like a Girl event offered to middle school girls this summer or our birdhouse design competition.

Design Like A Girl 2024

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Design Like a Girl 2024

The Bucks County AIA recently hosted two free workshops as part of the Design Like a Girl initiative, aimed at introducing middle school girls to careers in the design and construction industry. The event was a resounding success, with participants engaging in hands-on drawing and design exercises while gaining insight into the architectural profession.

The Design Like a Girl program pairs young girls with professionals from various fields, including Architecture, Engineering, and Landscape Architecture. Through direct mentorship, participants have the opportunity to explore these dynamic careers, regardless of their socioeconomic background, race, or ethnicity.

A heartfelt thank you to all our participants and the dedicated volunteers who made this event possible!

Interested in volunteering for this event in the future or other events? Please reach out to buckscountyaia@gmail.com.

The Nest (Bird Blind) On Going

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George School

This birdblind is of special significance as it will be a memorial to honor the memory of Maggie Popkin, a former student of The George School who passed in November of 2019. The birdblind will be on The George School’s campus and was requested by the Popkin family.

AIA Members, Michael Raphael, Gretchen Ginnerty and Charles Chichester have been working with The George School to organize a mentorship program this Spring to construct a Birdblind (A birdblind is a screen or structure that enables bird watchers to observe Birds without being seen). We are pleased to announce that the school and our organization are moving out of the schematic design phase and moving into design development.

Skateboard Design Competition

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The Emerging Professionals of AIA Bucks County took blank skateboard decks and created (functional) pieces of artwork to auctioned for charity.

The skateboards were hung as a public display and on May 24th 2022 in the Doylestown Marketplace. All the proceed went to benefit local equity, diversity, and inclusion causes in Bucks County.

Learn more about the Emerging Professionals.

Get Involved

The Bucks County board has been hard at work to move our very busy 90 member chapter into 2022 with some new ideas.

We want our community to be involved and we want to hear from you. The best way to reach out to us is buckscountyaia@gmail.com. Getting involved with the board has many benefits such as connection, interaction and personal development. 

If you have any interest in joining the volunteer efforts within the chapter or know of someone else that might be interested, please do not hesitate emailing buckscountyaia@gmail.com 

This year we are looking forward to reaching out with our emerging professionals. If anyone you know that is new the field of architecture and design or a recent architecture graduate have them reach out to AIABucksEP@gmail.com so they can get involved with other EP’s within their community.

2022 Design Awards Submissions

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2024 Design Awards Application due by November 13. Download here.

Design Awards Archives

2022 Design Awards

Familial Traditions is beautiful Architecture with a striking “spirit of place”. In the same family for generations, the structure incrementally expanded apace with growing and changing needs. This renovation skillfully links existing...

2021 Design Awards

The stone farmhouse, circa 1790, is set against a natural backdrop at the intersection of two winding creeks. The owner loves the setting of the home, optimally positioned to embrace the surrounding natural environment. Within the original historic...

2020 Design Awards

The Nathan James House, built in 1888 for Mr. and Mrs. Nathan James, Esq., was designed by one of Philadelphia’s most revered 19th century architects, Milton Bean. It was originally constructed as a residential duplex, with the other...

Noteworthy

Article contributions from our membership

What is an architect? In short, an architect is a person who creates the design and plan for a building so that it can be turned into a real three-dimensional space. But what does that mean for someone looking to...
When Ictinus designed the Parthenon in 447 BC, as chief builder or “architekton” in Greek, he sculpted full-size prototypes for the building components that would then be copied by masons to fabricate and assemble of the building. During the Renaissance,...

Resources from the AIA

Continuing Education

The AIA recognizes that continuing education in architecture is crucial to advancing and improving the profession. Architects need continuing education to maintain competency, to prepare for the future, to fulfill the continuing education requirements for AIA...

AIA Career Center

The facets of an architect's role are as varied and fascinating as their designs; these are the professionals who lead the process of creating functional spaces, from concept to full realization of their projects. The AIA...

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