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If you go:

What: 2011 Portland Architecture and Design Festival opening night party

When: Thursday, at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Center for Architecture, Northwest 11th Avenue and Flanders Street

Cost: $5 at the door

The event will kick off a month of events, and officially open the AIA 100th Anniversary exhibition, an interactive look at Oregon architecture over 100 years.

This year, the Oregon chapter of the American Institute of Architects turns 100. Local architects are reflecting via a series of events 鈥� including the 2011 Architecture and Design Festival, which begins Thursday and continues through October.

The Oregon chapter has helped many local architects land a job, participate in continuing education classes and gain benefits from use of its contract documents.

鈥淚n many ways, the things the AIA has provided have remained constant, but the organization is constantly evolving,鈥� said Doug Benson, an architect with MCM Architects.

Jeff Myhre, principal of Myhre Group Architects, said that he suspects many architects 鈥� even AIA members 鈥� don’t fully grasp the group’s activities.

鈥淔undamentally, the AIA is a political lobby,鈥� he said.

Saundra Stevens, executive vice president of both AIA Oregon and AIA Portland, believes that the group’s political activities are known less than they should be. In recent years, the AIA in Portland has adjusted some of its civic and political goals, and become more proactive and civically visible, she said.

AIA Oregon was founded in 1911. The Portland chapter split off in the 1960s, but the groups are still heavily connected. Today, AIA Portland is the group’s 15th largest chapter among more than 300 nationwide. And in 2008, 85 percent of licensed architects in the Portland area were AIA members. Nationally, that percentage averaged around 50 percent, Stevens said.

鈥淲e consider ourselves scrappy, but we’re in the same league as San Francisco (and) Los Angeles, and we’re doing the same types of programming, and sometimes even more,鈥� Stevens said.

Architect Robert Hastings joined AIA in 1979.

鈥淚t was a very energizing time in the city,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was the time with all the civic activity and discussions about Pioneer Courthouse Square and the Portland Building, and AIA was really engaged with those discussions.鈥�

Today, Hastings is the agency architect for TriMet. He said he’s seen the organization become more involved with issues that have less to do with strict design concerns.

鈥淲hat’s changed is that the profession began to understand it couldn’t just be self-serving; it needed to be more civic-minded,鈥� Hastings said.

That has led to involvement with schools, sustainability and land-use issues, he said.

鈥淲e’re a voice for ourselves, but also for things we believe in that don’t represent bottom-line financial gain,鈥� said AIA Oregon Vice President of Legislative Affairs Tom Pene, a principal with Boora Architects.

At a legislative level, AIA Oregon has shifted its focus over the last 20 years, particularly with the recent addition of a lobbyist, Stevens said.

鈥淎s an organization we tended to be somewhat reactive legislatively,鈥� she said.

AIA Oregon’s legislative efforts formerly were centered around licensure and other issues that impacted architects directly. But AIA Portland President Kurt Haapala, a Mahlum associate principal, said that both organizations want to be more proactive.

鈥淚nstead of being an organization that reacts to something that’s going on, like the (Columbia River Crossing) or Memorial Coliseum, we’re trying to get in front of those issues,鈥� Haapala said.

That also means there is frequent debate about the organization’s political opinion, Stevens said.

鈥淏ut at the end of the day it’s about consensus,鈥� she said.

One of the major discussions this year focused on AIA Portland’s 鈥淧reparing for Seismic Certainty鈥� symposium. Mayor Sam Adams spoke at the event, and officials from Portland Public Schools and state agencies engaged in discussions with architects and engineers.

鈥淚nitially the symposium focused on Portland,鈥� Stevens said. 鈥淚t opened our eyes that there’s much more here.鈥�

Members of AIA Oregon and AIA Portland also have worked to involve the public in design issues, a mission that physically manifested in 2007 in AIA Portland’s new Pearl District home, the Center for Architecture.

鈥淲e’ve always had a ground-floor gallery space and encouraged the public to come in,鈥� Stevens said, 鈥渂ut now (with the center) we see so much traffic and participation by the public.鈥�

鈥淢any people in the general public don’t feel as passionately about design and aesthetics as we architects do,鈥� Myhre said. 鈥淭he AIA does a good job of bringing that awareness up to the surface.鈥�