December 2010

Dear Friends of Public Architecture:

It has been an exciting year for Public Architecture. Designers across the country continue to answer our call to action by pledging themselves to public service in unprecedented numbers through The 1% program. This year their commitment grew to over $28 Million annually in pro bono services pledged by 875 firms and our matching program attracted 425 nonprofits in need of expert design services.

To recognize this commitment and to demonstrate the impact designers can have on our most vulnerable communities, we released The Power of Pro Bono: 40 Stories of Design for the Public Good by Architects and Their Clients, published by Metropolis Books and edited by our former Executive Director John Cary. Featuring a foreword by MacArthur Fellow Majora Carter, The Power of Pro Bono profiles the strength and variety of pro bono efforts by the design profession and demonstrates that every designer can make a difference in their community.

Working alongside our partner firms, our own design team impacted the work of nonprofits like International Planned Parenthood, the second-largest health care provider in the world, the United Way, and KIPP Schools. We also completed The Design for Reuse Primer, a free e-publication that introduces principles and strategies for the reuse of materials in the design and construction process, based on 18 months of research supported by the U.S. Green Building Council.

2011 will be an important building year for us. With your support, we will make broad improvements to our web presence and functionality, and launch new national initiatives like The 1% Design Advocates. New partnerships, like the one soon to be launched with Habitat for Humanity International, will demonstrate that design excellence and broad community impact need not be mutually exclusive. As we move forward with these and other initiatives, stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter to learn more.

Our accomplishments and goals would not be possible without the generous support of individual donors just like you. Join us by making a gift yourself and helping us spread the power of design to change communities and lives. With your gift of $100 or more by the end of the year we will send you a copy of The Power of Pro Bono as a token of our appreciation.

Thank you in advance and have a joyous holiday season.

Sincerely,

John Peterson, AIA
Founder & President

Established in 2002, Public Architecture identifies and solves practical problems of human interaction in the built environment and acts as a catalyst for public discourse through education, advocacy, and the design of public spaces and amenities. Visit www.publicarchitecture.org for more information.