Architecture, Construction, Engineering, and Design (ACED) fields are in the midst of an equity epidemic. According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Board (NCARB) only 1 in 5 architects identify as ethnic minorities while just 1 in 3 architects are women. To address this equity, in July of 2018 the Chicago Architecture Center (CAC) and the American Institute of Architects Chicago (AIA Chicago) partnered to convene, document, and describe the K-12 architecture and design education opportunity landscape in Chicago for in-school and out-of-school contexts. The project, which has culminated into a landscape report, sought to answer basic questions about access to architecture education available to Chicago youth. Findings in the report aim to better understand the pathways available within the architecture and design education ecosystem. Issues addressed lend insight into how connected learning practitioners are working to enable connections across professional, informal, and academic settings. The 2019 Connected Learning Summit will be the first opportunity for CAC to share the findings of this report with a key community of practice. In addition to the report, CAC will be showcasing a pre-release version of the online opportunities portal built as a result of the data collected in the initial report. CAC will share initial wireframes, user-experience mockups, and a working prototype of the DiscoverDesign.org Opportunities Portal with the CLS community. The objective of sharing this work-in-progress is to share insights learned and gather feedback for continued development.
