Fred A. Stitt

Architect Fred A. Stitt founded the San Francisco Institute of Architecture in 1990, to provide a new kind of architectural education, to encourage innovation and visionary expression, to advance education in architectural technology and management, and to make a total commitment to green building and sustainable design.
 
Fred taught at UC Berkeley and spent many years studying and documenting problems and solutions in architectural education. Prior to that, he had research on all aspects of architectural practice. Major publishers including McGraw-Hill, Van Nostrand, and Arts & Architecture Press, have published 15 of Fred’s architecture books.
 
His first textbook on ecological design — the Ecological Design Handbook. Published by McGraw-Hill, and recently translated into Chinese, is used at universities around the world. His next book, Frank Lloyd Wright Green, describes how Frank Lloyd Wright invented most of what we know as today’s green building design methods and technology.
 
His books include Working Drawing Manual, Architects Detail Library, Design Office Management Handbook, Uniform Drawing Format Manual: New Cadd and Drafting Standards for Building Design and Working Drawings, Architect’s Room Design Data Handbook, Systems Graphics: Breakthroughs in Drawing Production and Project Management for Architects, Designers and Engineers, Project Management Checklist: A Complete Guide For Exterior and Interior Construction, Architect’s Room Design Data Handbook, and Systems Drafting: Creative Reprographics for Architects and Engineers.
 
Fred and SFIA’s distinguished faculty are now applying extended problem seeking and creative problem solving to every aspect of contemporary sustainable architecture. In pursuit of this work, SFIA created the first major national and international green building conferences (the Eco Wave series) and has held recurring workshops for design professionals and educators in over 50 cities across the U.S.
 
In 1997, SFIA became a Registered Provider for the American Institute of Architects, and has enrolled over 5,000 architects and engineers in its continuing education programs. In addition, SFIA has provided low-cost distance learning programs to architecture students and professionals on every continent around the world. With over 2,000 students, it is the oldest and largest professional green building educational institution in the world.
 
Among other awards, Fred received the 2009 Award for his “Universal Green” Education Initiative from the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council at a Congressional Briefing and Award Ceremony in Washington DC. Other low-cost international education initiatives are currently in the planning stages.