SMACNA Announces Partnership with American Institute of Architecture Students

The Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association has launched its architectural internship program in collaboration with the American Institute of Architecture Students. The program pairs leading architectural sheet metal contractors with promising architecture students to give them experience seeing architectural designs brought to life through the construction process.

SMACNA architectural sheet metal contractors work on some of the most complex and high-profile projects in the world, including the Minnesota Vikings / U.S. Bank Stadium, Starbucks’ NYC Reserve Roastery, Milwaukee Bucks Arena, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the Harim Tower in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea.

In addition to increasing the awareness of architects that touch the industry, this program aims to provide architecture students with real-world experiences beyond their traditional education. AIAS will match its students to available internships with SMACNA architectural sheet metal contractors across the country, thus exposing interns to a variety of roles within the sector, offering hands-on training from a licensed professional and enhancing the relationship between designers, fabricators and construction workers. SMACNA has already received interest from several member companies eager to host interns this summer.

Paid internships will provide architecture students with education credit hours in accordance with the Architectural Experience Program of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. To meet eligible credit requirements as part of the internship, students may expect to participate in pre-construction, pre-installation and regular progress meetings with design teams; understand implications of project delivery technologies and methods; manage information exchange during construction; maintain compliance with established milestones; prepare diagrams illustrating spatial relationships and functional adjacencies; perform building code analysis; prepare cost of work estimates; review shop drawings and submittals during construction for conformance with design intent and manage project close-out procedures.

Applications are now open for SMACNA member companies and AIAS students who want to participate. For more info, contact SMACNA’s Market Sectors Department at 703-803-2980 or visit the website.