It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach programs, and collaborates with other stakeholders in the design and construction industries.

They held their inaugural meeting on February 23, 1857, and invited 16 additional architects to join, including Alexander Jackson Davis, Thomas U. Walter, Frederick Clarke Withers, and Calvert Vaux.

[2] The following year, the constitution was amended to include the mission of promoting the artistic, scientific, and practical aspects of architecture, facilitating professional interaction and camaraderie, raising the profession's standing, and uniting architects for the advancement of the field.

[2] In the mid-1960s, a design competition was held to select an architect for a new AIA headquarters located at 1735 New York Avenue, NW, in Washington, D.C. Mitchell Giurgola Architects won the competition but failed to gain approval from the United States Commission of Fine Arts for the design concept.

AIA components also operate in several international locations, including the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Canada.

These chapters offer programming and direct services to support AIA members at various stages of their professional careers.

This initiative involved a design contest conducted in partnership with charitable organizations such as Make It Right, SBP, and Architecture for Humanity.

[9] AIA members actively contribute to their profession and communities by participating in various professional interest areas, ranging from design to regional and urban development.

[10] The AIA organizes an annual conference held in late spring or early summer, which attracts the largest gathering of architects worldwide.

[12] At the 2007 Associations Advance America Awards, two of the AIA's public outreach efforts earned the Award of Excellence: The Blueprint for America nationwide community service initiative, and the Sustainability 2030 Toolkit, a resource created to encourage mayors and community leaders to advocate environmentally friendly building design.