Dear Friends of Public Architecture:
Last Friday, John Cary and I were in New York to crown the winners of this year’s Designer of the Year Award, the five partners of GRAFT--a progressive design firm with offices in Berlin, Beijing, and Los Angeles. GRAFT’s extraordinary portfolio includes work alongside Brad Pitt in founding Make It Right, an ambitious effort to rebuild the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. GRAFT’s pro bono work for Make It Right has included everything from MIR's iconic pink house installation in November 2008, to the design and construction of multiple homes, to the selection of architects such as Shigeru Ban, Frank Gehry, and Thom Mayne to design MIR homes as well. All pro bono. GRAFT is also the mastermind behind the newly published Architecture in Times of Need, documenting the progress to date of the Make It Right Foundation.
Another important honor conferred during last week’s festivities in New York was the Legend Award, recognizing a lifetime of contributions to the design industry. This year’s winner was none other than Art Gensler, namesake of the global design firm he started in his garage in 1965 with just $200 in the bank. We were particularly pleased to celebrate with Art and his son Doug Gensler on the heels of Gensler's massive pledge of time through The 1% program last week. The firm of more than 2,000 pledged a staggering 43,680 hours, a major gesture of generosity during a time when pro bono design services are more needed than ever.
Finally, it is with heavy hearts that we send our sympathies to the countless people who have suffered greatly from the earthquake in Haiti on January 12, 2010. Public Architecture is currently investigating an appropriate vehicle by which we can open up The 1% program to nonprofits serving Haiti to any of our more than 700 U.S. firms looking to help.
John Peterson, AIA
Founder & President
Contents:
1. 46 Firms and 19 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program
2. Inspiration Awards Call for Entries
3. Volunteer Spotlight: Meghan Hade
4. Call for Summer Associates
5. Global Lives Project Exhibition Opening
6. Register Now for Structures for Inclusion 10
7. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation
8. 2009 Year-end Appeal Recap
1. 46 Firms and 19 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program
 The 1% program of Public Architecture grew significantly during the months of December and January with 46 new firms and 19 new nonprofits signing on, bringing a total of 329 nonprofit participants and 721 firm participants. The 1% program encourages architecture and design professionals to integrate pro bono work into their practice. Celebrating this approach, here is one project that could not have been realized without the architect’s pro bono contribution.
 Open Architecture Workshop of San Diego, Calif., headed up by principal Scott Glazebrook, has provided a variety of pro bono services for Sushi Performance and Visual Art, also located in San Diego. The 5,300 square foot space is built on ideas of transparency and connectedness between the interior arts and the organization’s broader community. Fundraising remains a challenge for Sushi, who seeks to complete the second phase build-out. Yet, the improvements implemented thus far have already allowed ever-changing ways for Sushi to engage its audience and provide a laboratory where creative exploration, community engagement, and new ideas flourish.
Visit www.theonepercent.org for more information.
2. Inspiration Awards Call for Entries
Submission deadline: February 12, 2010 (extended from February 5)
 Contract Magazine, in association with manufacturer Tandus, presents the Second Annual Inspiration Awards. This unique awards program recognizes social responsibility in commercial interior architecture--using design and/or design skills to improve the quality of life for those in need. It also recognizes cause-related work by the commercial interiors community. Top honors will each receive a $5,000 grant to the cause supported by this inspirational work.
The awards will be conferred April 8, 2010, at a special event at the new headquarters of SPUR. Select entries will appear in Contract Magazine and contractmagazine.com. Executive Director John Cary will serve as a member of the jury for the second year in a row. There is a $100 fee per entry.
Click here for more information.
3. Volunteer Spotlight: Meghan Hade
 Since she began volunteering with us in August 2009, Meghan Hade has helped us on an endless number of tasks. In her initial role as a Web Development volunteer, she assisted us in better defining our social media strategies and how they might be employed with a new website. On her own initiative, Meghan investigated other nonprofits that use social media effectively and helped get us up and active on facebook and twitter. Meghan has also spent many a late evening coding this very newsletter, a job that she completes without complaint, which is a true testament to her character.
Meghan also played a vital role during the development of the book on pro bono design by conducting initial research on the firms and nonprofits, participating in the interviews and churning out transcriptions with great accuracy and speed. She has been consistent, reliable, and a pleasant presence in the office. Meghan works as a research associate with Adaptive Edge, a strategic foresight think tank devoted to creating more sustainable futures. Next year, as she heads off to grad school to an as-of-yet determined school, we will miss having her around but remain confident she is off to do great things. Thank you for all your work!
4. Call for Summer Associates
Application deadline: March 8, 2010
 Public Architecture is currently seeking candidates for our annual summer associate program. The summer associate(s) will work closely with and support Public Architecture’s fulltime professional staff of seven. Past projects led by our summer associates have ranged from conducting interviews about pro bono design with some of the country’s top architects to creating renderings and models. The summer associates play in integral role in moving forward many of our design initiatives and are encouraged to participate in our weekly staff meetings and annual board retreat.
All application materials must be received no later than 5pm on Monday, March 8, 2010. Required materials include a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and design work portfolio or samples. A short-list of candidates will be interviewed by phone, unless local. Final determination is expected no later than April 2, 2010.
Click here for more information.
5. Global Lives Project Exhibition
 Public Architecture’s Liz Ogbu, as part of the Bay Area based design team FOURM design+build+educate (which also includes design principal, Deanna VanBuren, and construction principal, Matthew Toon) are collaborating with the nonprofit Global Lives Project to produce the group’s pioneering world premiere immersive video installation. The premiere is the centerpiece of an artist-in-residency program at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) in San Francisco. Adrienne Aquino of the graphics company Ade has also been part of the collaboration, designing the exhibit’s environmental graphics. The exhibit opens on February 26 and runs through June 20, 2010. An opening night party, with a separate installation designed by Sand Studios, will take place February 26 from 7:30-11:30pm.
 The Global Lives Project is a collaboration of filmmakers, photographers, artists and everyday people working together to create a video library of human life experience. The show features 240 hours of video of daily life of individuals from Brazil, Malawi, Japan, China, Indonesia, India, Serbia, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. The Global Lives Project exhibit is the culmination of an extensive collaborative process between the designers and the filmmakers, all of whom collectively donated thousands of hours pro bono. Both parties explored how to best utilize space and materiality in conjunction with the video documentaries to produce an aesthetically sophisticated and immersive experience into the lives of each of the 10 diverse and engaging subjects. Featuring dynamic viewing rooms, sculptural landscape furniture, and engaging envirographics, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts installation seeks to invite visitors to “step out of your world.”
Click here for more information.
6. Register Now for Structures for Inclusion 10
 March 27-28, 2010 | Washington, DC
The tenth annual offering of the Structures for Inclusion conference series will take place March 27-28, 2010. The two-day conference will be hosted by Howard University in Washington, DC, uniting both seasoned and aspiring community design practitioners. The theme of this year’s conference is SEED--Social/Economic/Environmental Design.
The keynote speaker is Francis Kéré , a young architect from Burkina Faso, Africa, and winner of the 2004 Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The conference will involve three interactive panels, provocatively titled: "Design Activism: Don’t wait for the phone to ring, take action," "Development as a Change Agent for the Good: Developers have a bad reputation among architects, but is it deserved?" and Politics and Policy: Like it or not, design is a political act."
Click here to register or visit www.designcorps.org for general information about the SFI conference series.
7. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation
University of California, Berkeley | February 6, 2010
Invited speaker, CED 50th Anniversary Symposium
University of Oregon | Eugene, OR | February 19, 2010
Invited lecturer
Humanscale | Philadelphia, PA | February 25, 2010
Invited speaker, "Design Smart Seminar Series"
Humanscale | Indianapolis, IN | March 4, 2010
Invited speaker, "Design Smart Seminar Series"
8. 2009 Year-end Appeal Recap
Last month, Public Architecture launched its third annual appeal. Of the hundreds of missives we sent out, we were awed and humbled by the number returned, particularly given the state of the economy. Some recipients went beyond sending in their dollars and cents and joined The 1% program, greatly expanding their contribution through pro bono service. All told the individual donations totaled nearly $25,000 dollars and almost half of the individuals were first-time donors, bringing 2009 to a fantastic close.
It is never too late to make a 100% tax-deductible donation. Click here to support Public Architecture.
 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.
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