As of this March, the Architects’ Association represents 10,000 architect members, a number that was only reached for short periods in 2008 and 2011 when the momentum of the economic growth of the early 2000s was still carrying over.

In later periods, requests for new membership reached a standstill and even fell, at some points, although only marginally, since the number of members never dropped below 9,500. Following that phase, in recent years the trend toward growth has been reinstated: last year a total of 401 architects joined the Association.

Our membership is getting younger, and the future will be marked by a growing presence of women
In the past two years, the typical new member profile has been a young architect (45% are under 30 and 42% are between 30 and 40 years of age). In terms of gender, the presence of women has seen a clear increase, a situation that can also be seen in the student body at architecture schools. Fifty-five per cent of new association members are men, whereas forty-five per cent are women. These percentages show a shifting trend when compared with the current census of association members (up to the present, women have made up only 30% of members).

Working together to meet future challenges
The Association has responded to recent years of forced transformation in the profession with a strategy founded on four main pillars: professional support, advancement in terms of training and occupation, the promotion of architecture, and representation of the collective.

In this context, increasing our numbers to 10,000—in addition to strengthening our position as a collective—will help us to take on the many challenges we are now facing. Some examples include achieving an improved standing for our profession, contributing to promoting urban renewal policies and actions, or working to ensure decent housing conditions.