AIA Seattle
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1949
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
AIA Seattle firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AIA Seattle
- Legal name
- AIA Seattle
- Website
- https://aiaseattle.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1949
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AIA Seattle industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Professional Association Services
- NAICS
- Business Associations (813910)
- SIC
- Services-Membership Organizations (8600)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Awarding Organizations & Credentialing Bodies (Certificates/Diplomas) (EDADAFAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA), Arts & Culture Appreciation (Art History, Film Appreciation, Music Appreciation) (EDAAAGAO), Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)
Keywords
Where AIA Seattle is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
AIA Seattle business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from architects, associates, students, firms, and allied professionals. Multiple membership tiers available including Architect, Associate, Recent Graduate, Student, Architecture Firm, and Allied Professional categories.
- Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate Allied Partners sponsor the organization at various levels. Sponsors include construction companies, engineering firms, architectural product manufacturers, and design practices.
- Event and Program Fees: Revenue from educational events, programming, and the Seattle Design Festival. Some events are free while others may have attendance fees.
- Awards Submissions: Honor Awards for Washington Architecture program accepts submissions with fees (with early bird pricing available).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Architect membership for licensed AIA members |
| Subscription | Annual | Associate membership for emerging professionals |
| Subscription | Annual | Student membership for architecture students |
| Subscription | Annual | Allied Professional membership |
| Subscription | Annual | Architecture Firm membership (Firm Network) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Honor Awards submission fees |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
AIA Seattle product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AIA Seattle provides tiered professional membership, continuing education, career services, advocacy, and recognition programs to architects, allied design professionals, students, and architecture firms across a 10-county region in Washington State. Its marquee offerings are the 76-year-old Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, the annual Seattle Design Festival, and more than 70 annual educational and networking programs delivered through over 15 member committees.
Product overview
AIA Seattle is a professional membership organization serving as the Seattle chapter of the American Institute of Architects, serving a 10-county region. The organization operates as a platform providing membership services, educational programming, awards recognition, community events, and advocacy. Core offerings include the Honor Awards for Washington Architecture (annual awards program), Seattle Design Festival (annual community event), education programs including on-demand learning partnerships, career services with job board and licensure support, and over 15 member committees covering climate/resilience, culture/identity, professional practice, and livable communities. The organization also runs advocacy programs through the Public Policy Board and specialized committees including Housing Advocacy, Urban Design Forum, and Committee on Homelessness. Partnerships include America ByDesign TV series showcasing award-winning projects.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Seattle Design Festival: Annual design festival hosted by AIA Seattle featuring exhibitions, panels, and community engagement around design topics.
- Honor Awards for Washington Architecture
- Center for Architecture and Design (CfAD)
Products and services
- AIA Seattle Membership Programs Tiered annual professional membership program with categories for Architect, Associate, Recent Graduate, Student, Architecture Firm, Allied Professional, and Corporate Allied Partner. Provides members with access to continuing education, advocacy representation, committee engagement, career services, and the Honor Awards and Seattle Design Festival programs across AIA Seattle's 10-county service region.
- Honor Awards for Washington Architecture Annual nationally-recognized awards program celebrating design excellence in Washington State architecture, with submission categories for Built, Conceptual, and Research & Innovation projects, an international jury, a live awards event, and the Young Voices Selection program for emerging designers.
- Seattle Design Festival Annual community design festival held in August featuring the SDF Block Party at Lake Union Park, Built Installations, Mainstage Programs, Pop-Up Experiences, Design Mixers, and a Closing Party. The 2026 edition is the 16th annual and themed IN[FLUX], exploring how design responds to uncertainty.
- Education Programs (including ARE Preparation and On-Demand Learning) Continuing education programming for architects and emerging professionals, including scheduled Education Programs, on-demand learning through partnerships with aecKnowledge and AIAU (AIA National), and dedicated Architect Registration Examination (ARE) preparation resources for licensure candidates.
- Career Services Career support services for architecture professionals, including a job board for posting and finding architecture jobs, resume posting, the Laddership mentorship program, and Path to Licensure resources for emerging professionals.
- Advocacy Programs Public policy advocacy program focused on housing, sustainable design, city design, homelessness, and transportation, delivered through AIA Seattle's Public Policy Board and member-led advocacy committees such as the Housing Advocacy Committee, Committee on Homelessness, and Urban Design Forum.
- Member Committees Over 15 volunteer member committees organized into themes including Climate and Resilience (Mass Timber, Committee on the Environment, Adaptation & Resilience), Culture/Identity and Belonging, Specializations, Professional Path and Practice, and Livable Communities, providing peer engagement and professional development opportunities.
Quantifiable outcome
- 76 years of Honor Awards program celebrating design excellence
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use AIA Seattle
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AIA Seattle technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AIA Seattle partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- America ByDesign: ArchitecturecorePartnership with TV series to feature projects awarded through AIA Seattle's Honor Awards program. The show showcases exceptional design principles, projects, materials and products. Featured projects include Seattle Aquarium Ocean Pavilion by LMN Architects, Seattle Convention Center by LMN Architects, Northlake Commons by Weber Thompson, and others. The series airs on CBS and streams on aia.org and YouTube.
- Center for Architecture and Design (CfAD)coreShared space partner at 1010 Western Ave that has been decommissioning. AIA Seattle plus Seattle Design Festival share aligned vision for culture of design fostering equitable, resilient, thriving communities.
- AIA Northwest WashingtonminorA section of AIA Seattle serving members in North Puget Sound, supporting and promoting the design profession through educational programs and activities.
- University of Washington Integrated Design Lab (IDL)minorPartner on Energy in Design Award, providing technical support for Common App submissions and office hours for submitters.
- BetterBricksminorSponsor of Energy in Design Award and sustainability initiatives.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AIA Seattle competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AIA Chicago: AIA Chicago operates the same chapter model as AIA Seattle — membership tiers, Design Excellence Awards, continuing education, advocacy committees, and a public design festival (Chicago Architecture Biennial-style programming) — making it a structurally identical peer in a different regional market.
- Boston Society for Architecture (BSA): BSA is a regional architecture association serving Greater Boston architects with membership, design awards (BSA Design Awards), advocacy, and public programming — directly comparable in mission, scale, and chapter-style operating model to AIA Seattle.
- AIA New York: AIA New York is one of the largest AIA chapters in the U.S., running parallel programs: Design Awards, member committees, continuing education, advocacy, and a major public-facing architecture festival — directly comparable in operating model, though materially larger in scale.
- AIA DC (AIA|DC): AIA DC serves the Washington D.C. architecture community with parallel programming: design awards, continuing education, advocacy, committees, and a public architecture festival — comparable structurally and in mission to AIA Seattle despite serving a different metro market.
- AIA Los Angeles: AIA LA is a fellow large West Coast chapter running parallel programs: Design Awards, member committees, advocacy on housing/urban design, and continuing education. Comparable to AIA Seattle in chapter structure, professional community focus, and Pacific Coast market dynamics.
- AIA San Francisco: AIA San Francisco is a fellow West Coast AIA chapter serving the Bay Area architecture community with parallel membership tiers, Honor Awards, design festival programming, and advocacy infrastructure — making it the closest structural and geographic comparable to AIA Seattle.
Emerging players
- Center for Architecture (New York): The Center for Architecture in NYC operates public-facing exhibitions, K-12 education, and design programming for the architecture community — overlapping with AIA Seattle's Seattle Design Festival and former CfAD partnership, though structured as a foundation rather than a membership chapter.
Others
- American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA): ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects, with parallel chapter structure, awards programs, advocacy, and continuing education. It's a sibling professional association serving an allied design discipline — comparable model, adjacent profession.
Broad incumbents
- The American Institute of Architects (AIA National): AIA National is the parent organization of AIA Seattle and the broader professional body representing U.S. architects. It operates overlapping programs in continuing education (AIAU), national awards, advocacy, and career services — making AIA Seattle a chapter within, and partially overlapping with, this broader incumbent.
Regional players
- Urban Land Institute (ULI) Northwest: ULI Northwest is the Pacific Northwest district council of ULI, a real estate and land use organization that overlaps with AIA Seattle's Urban Design Forum and Housing Advocacy Committee on issues like density, TOD, and mixed-use development — comparable in regional advocacy scope but with a real estate (vs. architecture) lens.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AIA Seattle social profiles
Digital presenceAIA Seattle financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AIA Seattle leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
AIA Seattle funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AIA Seattle M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AIA Seattle
What does AIA Seattle do?
AIA Seattle provides tiered professional membership, continuing education, career services, advocacy, and recognition programs to architects, allied design professionals, students, and architecture firms across a 10-county region in Washington State. Its marquee offerings are the 76-year-old Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, the annual Seattle Design Festival, and more than 70 annual educational and networking programs delivered through over 15 member committees.
Is AIA Seattle a public or private company?
AIA Seattle is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was AIA Seattle founded?
AIA Seattle was founded in 1949. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is AIA Seattle based?
AIA Seattle is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does AIA Seattle make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Membership Dues are the primary driver. The others are corporate Sponsorships, event and Program Fees and awards Submissions.
Who are AIA Seattle's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AIA Chicago, Boston Society for Architecture (BSA), AIA New York, AIA DC (AIA|DC), AIA Los Angeles and AIA San Francisco. Center for Architecture (New York) is listed as an emerging player. American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is listed as an others. The American Institute of Architects (AIA National) is listed as a broad incumbent. Urban Land Institute (ULI) Northwest is listed as a regional player.
Does AIA Seattle have an API?
No public API is recorded for AIA Seattle.
What industry is AIA Seattle in?
AIA Seattle's product category is Professional Association Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADAFAC, Awarding Organizations & Credentialing Bodies (Certificates/Diplomas), with a secondary code of EDADAFAA, National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies. Its NAICS code is 813910 and its SIC code is 8600.