MEMBERSHIP STATISTICS

The Alberta Association of Architects represents many groups; architects and licensed interior designers, interns, students, retired and life members, but what does the face of the practice in Alberta look like and who are the people within the practice of the profession?

NOTE: All Figures as of Fall 2000.

Be it the Alberta Advantage, the strong economy or simply a growth in the design field, registration and membership within the Association are on the rise. It might interest you to know that we are 965 members strong.

Of this group 85% are male and 15% are female.

What is our mean Age?
In reviewing the AAA statistics, we see that the membership is most strongly represented by members in the 41 to 50 year age category closely followed by the next member group in the 51 - 60 year age category. The actual age groupings break down as follows:

In what areas of the profession are we involved?
Looking at the basic categories of membership we see that the Association is comprised mainly of registered architects at 65% followed by intern architects at 12%, licensed interior designers at 6%, and retired members at 4%. The remaining 13% of the membership are comprised of the following categories:

Our Practices
The practice of architecture and of interior design is an ever changing and evolving dynamic. Traditionally, the profession has been dominated by sole proprietorships: the one-person firm with or without a modest support staff. Today, the practice is subject to the 'fast-paced' business world of mergers, transitions and restructuring. Though the sole proprietorship and the small firm dominate the firm make-up of the Association, the AAA has noted an increasing number of restructured corporations, joint firms, partnerships and alliances.

Size of Practice…where do we fit in?
420 architectural and licensed interior design firms serve the province of Alberta, with an approximate population of 3.5 million. The breakdown in terms of the various sizes of practices is as follows:

Of the 420 firms in operation, 30 are licensed interior design firms.

Where are these 420 firms located? We know that the highest concentration of practices exists in the urban centers, but where exactly? In regard to the 390 architectural practices, 28% of are located in Edmonton, while 40% are located in Calgary. The breakdown of practices in other locations looks like this:

Of the 30 licensed interior design practices, 26% are located in Edmonton, while 65% are located in Calgary. The remaining 6% of licensed interior design practices are in two locations: Grande Prairie and Chestemere, Alberta.

This is a snapshot of the membership today