“The pedigree and diversity of architects and associated professionals to present their work in our lecture programme was arguably the highest standard in several years, undoubtedly an achievement in current times.
We organised a number of site visits to buildings both recently completed and under construction. They proved to be a great opportunity for informal conversation and offered in-depth insight into the logic behind the myriad of decisions which ultimately manifest themselves in the built artefact.
This year the AAI facilitated three exhibitions. The AAI Awards 2012 exhibition travelled to Dublin and Meath and is due to travel to a few ore venues before the launch of the 28th Awards. The Describing Architecture Exhibition, curated by Alice Clancy and Antoin Doyle, in conjunction with the AAI, proved to be one of the highlights of the year and plans are in place to build up on the success of the previous exhibitions next year. The AAI presented the Atlas of Galway exhibition by students of Tom Emerson in the ETH Zurich at the Oonagh Young Gallery in Dublin, and PLACE in Belfast, as well as hosting Tom for a memorable lecture.
The Mentoring Sessions are an area of innovation for the Association, gathering momentum throughout the year.
The novel approach of our Programme Officer to curate events under selected themes, in order to provide cohesion to the programme and to encourage debate around key issues, proved very successful and is something we intend to build upon.
Changes in the funding climate of the Association, and indeed the architectural profession, due to the economic climate, have required reorganisation and consolidation of the Association over the last few years. This year the Association cleared all outstanding legacy debts whilst presenting a compelling programme to our members. This was achieved solely through the dedicated work of the few tenacious individuals who make up the committee to whom I as well as all those who care about the AAI owe a tremendous debt of gratitude.
We wish to thank John O’Regan of Gandon Publishing for his continued work on the New Irish Architecture series of publications.
Next year we intend delivering an exciting programme but also to expand on our current role and better define the role of the Association in promoting the culture of Architecture.
We hope to recruit more dedicated volunteers to help continue to grow the organisation. We are always delighted to find others who share our enthusiasm and want to join with us. We urge anyone who is interested to get involved.”
Fergus Naughton – AAI PRESIDENT
The AAI Annual Review 2013 is available to view online and download here.