The Beaux-Arts Institute of Design (BAID), founded in 1916 by Lloyd Warren in New York City, aimed to train American architects, sculptors, and mural painters in the tradition of the French École des Beaux-Arts. Evolving from the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, BAID became instrumental in standardizing architectural education nationwide through rigorous design competitions, notably handling up to 9500 entries in 1929-1930.

Co-founded by architect Frederic Charles Hirons, who also designed its 1928 building, the institute provided practical, hands-on instruction, often serving immigrant and working-class students. Among its significant achievements was the 1927 Whitney Warren competition, won by Carl Conrad Franz Kressbach for his pioneering airport design that influenced commercial aviation.

Reflecting a shift away from European traditions, BAID was renamed the National Institute for Architectural Education in 1956 and later the Van Alen Institute in 1995. Its original building on East 44th Street in Manhattan now houses Egypt's mission to the United Nations.