Gould Evans and Cannon Design Receive AIA Award

Washington, D.C., July 11, 2006 — The American Institute of Architects (AIA) announces Gould Evans Associates of Kansas City, Mo., and Cannon Design of Grand Island, N.Y., as the two recipients of the 2006 Intern Development Program (IDP) Outstanding Firm Award. Every year the AIA Intern Development Program Coordinating Committee (IDPCC) recognizes architecture firms that demonstrate exemplary commitment and contributions to architectural interns in their professional development. This national award is given to recognize a firm’s balance of comprehensive training opportunities, continuing education programs, and commitment to the IDP. The two awards were presented on June 9th in Los Angeles at the AIA National Convention and Design Exposition. Gould Evans Associates, a large firm, attributes the high honor of receiving the Outstanding Firm Award to its in-house IG:AP (Intern Group and the Architectural Profession, pronounced “I-Gap”) intern development and mentoring program. The submission, which was a collaborative mentor-mentee effort, is indicative of the firm’s dedication to its interns, describing in-depth the many faces of IG:AP such as Reverse Mentoring and the pursuit of Personal Interest Areas (PIAs). IG:AP was created as a direct response to the support interns have requested in order to complete their IDP requirements. It is a comprehensive solution addressing the issues that have arisen from the intern’s need for an enriching mentoring relationship, supplementary education and training, valuable community service and volunteering experiences, and continuous professional development. Founding principal, Robert E. Gould, FAIA, said, “The success of IG:AP moves Gould Evans toward our goals of supporting our interns, the profession, and our communities while providing high quality client services.” The Outstanding Firm Award this year also went to Cannon Design, a large firm in New York which had 57 interns participating in IDP in 2005. The jurors were impressed with the in-house IDP Advisory Committee which was created to provide solutions for helping interns gain IDP units. In addition to the committee, Cannon Design publishes a newsletter entitled “Mentoring Today” that provides employees with information about ongoing and new mentoring initiatives across the firm’s many offices. The firm avidly promotes its registered architects to join the mentoring program and encourages its interns to select mentors both internally and externally. The 2006 jury was comprised of representatives from the various organizations involved in IDPCC: Gary Demele, AIA, representing the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Tami Mullinix, Associate AIA, representing interns at Large, Ralph Maisel, AIA, representing the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB). The Intern Development Program started in 1976 as a pilot program developed by the AIA and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards to ensure the continued support of interns by the changing profession of architecture. IDP is a profession-wide, comprehensive training program that is focused on the professional development of architectural interns. Through a series of required activities, IDP enables participants to acquire knowledge, understanding and skills that form the core competencies related to successful architectural practice. IDP is structured in a way that effectively responds to the training needs of architectural interns by providing a wide range of resources, established progressive benchmarks, advice and mentor guidance throughout the extensive internship process.

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