SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With 20,000 guests to educate and entertain, the San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects has pulled out all the stops to ensure a memorable AIA 2007 National Convention May 3-5. “AIA 150: Growing Beyond Green,” celebrates the AIA’s 150th anniversary while focusing on ways architects can embrace and foster the concepts of environmentally conscious building design. To complement the national organization’s theme, AIA San Antonio has ensured that a “green thread” runs through all host chapter activities, from serving organically grown food and vegetables at host chapter functions and producing a recyclable green guide to the convention, to creating a sustainable AIA San Antonio gift store and lounge that will be transformed into the home of San Antonio’s new Center for Architecture. (Sales will also generate funds for the chapter’s new Architecture Foundation of San Antonio.) In addition, the chapter produced San Antonio’s first-ever green map in time for the gathering and researched, wrote and published a brand-new new guide to the Alamo City’s architecture, “Traditions and Visions: San Antonio Architecture,” which makes its debut at the convention and showcases the city’s most impressive architectural contributions spanning nearly three centuries. Professional and guest tours were also created with “green” in mind, and even the blockbuster chapter host party, “Fiesta! San Antonio” at historic La Villita, will boast many sustainable features while spotlighting the city’s ethnic diversity and unique architectural history. Speakers at the three-day gathering include some of the biggest names in the architectural and design industries, including former Vice President Al Gore, who will deliver the closing presentation on Saturday, May 5. “We are proud and honored to serve as host chapter of this history-making convention,” said Chris Schultz, AIA, president of AIA San Antonio. “San Antonio’s frontier spirit, in which the most is made from scarcity, embodies the true spirit of what the national AIA organization is trying to accomplish: promoting sustainable living around the world.” AIA San Antonio is the fourth largest chapter of the AIA in Texas.
