June 2009

Dear Friends of Public Architecture:

As readers might recall, the Day Labor Station design initiative of Public Architecture received a significant honor last fall in the form of the $50,000 Silver Prize for North America for the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction. The top three honorees from all five regions were then advanced to a global competition. Once again, the Day Labor Station stood out and was selected for the 2009 Global Innovation Award, bringing with it another $50,000 prize.

The money aside, these two major recognitions speak to the power of the Day Labor Station as an advocacy and design initiative. Now in their second cycle, this latest round of Holcim Awards garnered over 5,000 submissions from 120 countries around the world. Furthermore, a review of prize winners at the global level reveals the Day Labor Station was the only small-scale project amidst a collection of master plan projects.

The award was conferred on Sunday evening during a special event at the California Academy of Sciences--a Renzo Piano-designed project and honoree of the Holcim Awards’ 2006 Silver Prize for North America. The Holcim Foundation generously welcomed a great many of our project contributors and supporters to attend the ceremony, but there simply was not room for the literally dozens of people involved to date. You know who you are. We would like to particularly recognize several key contributors to our global award submission, including the incredible graphic design and layout work of Pentagram, diagrams and models generated by HOK, and production of the panels by BPS. Thanks to these crucial supporters and many others for being a part of this ongoing initiative.

John Peterson, AIA
Founder & President

Contents:

1. Pavement to Parks Pedestrian Plaza Opens
2. 19 Firms and 7 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program in May
3. Lifecycle Building Challenge III Now Accepting Entries
4. Volunteer Profile & Call for Volunteers
5. Highlighted Events in New York and San Francisco
6. Upcoming Public Architecture Activities, Events, & Presentations

1. Pavement to Parks Pedestrian Plaza Opens

Pavement to Parks, a Public Architecture-designed pedestrian plaza at the intersection of 17th & Castro Streets in San Francisco opened on May 13th to a warm welcome by Mayor Gavin Newsom, who spoke at the grand opening. In his prepared remarks, Newsom noted that the Castro Plaza is a temporary pilot, but could become permanent with community approval. The Mayor also unveiled intentions to install similar plazas at three additional locations in San Francisco--the first in as many as two-dozen sites identified to date.

The plaza is occupied almost every hour of the day and has been the site of a concert, performances, and much lounging. It has also garnered a significant amount of press. The San Francisco Chronicle and Streetsblog SF, among other outlets, have provided coverage, generating conversation about the value of accessible open spaces to local communities.

Many thanks are owed to an array of contributors including Flora Grubb Gardens, High Caliber Growing, and Pacific Paper Tube for their generous donations to this project. Additionally, we would like to thank Laura Jerrard, Mike Murphy, and Lola Feiger for the time and energy they volunteered to make the project a reality.

2. 19 Firms and 7 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program in May

The 1% program continued to grow at a strong pace in May, adding 19 firms and 7 nonprofits to its participant roster. Click here for a complete list of these new participants. In addition to formalizing firms’ commitment to pro bono work and highlighting their accomplishments in this realm, The 1% continues to be a clearinghouse for nonprofit facility needs. Recent nonprofit registrants cite facility needs that include:

Teacher gathering space for Boston-based high school preparing students to be productive members of a culturally diverse society

Houston-based historic neighborhood seeking strategies for positive neighborhood redevelopment while mitigating the negative impacts of gentrification

Accessibility and facilities renovation for an Illinois-based nonprofit that meets the needs of families faced with homelessness and domestic violence

The 1% program gives these and other social endeavors a venue through which to tap into the collective goodwill of the design profession and also provides designers with opportunities to take on projects of interest to them.

Visit www.theonepercent.org for more information.

3. Lifecycle Building Challenge III Now Accepting Entries

Deadline: August 30, 2009

The Lifecycle Building Challenge is a free national competition that challenges creative minds to facilitate deconstruction, local building material reuse, and greenhouse gas emission reductions. Organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is working with Public Architecture to produce the Design for Reuse Primer, as well as the American Institute of Architects, the Lifecycle Building Challenge supports the goals of Public Architecture’s Material Reuse Design Initiative, by demonstrating how design for reuse and reclaimed materials can be integrated into the building process.

Professionals and students can submit built and conceptual design entries for this year’s theme: “Whole Buildings and Building Products.” In addition there will be outstanding achievement awards for Best Greenhouse Gas Reducing Design, Best Green Job Creation, and Best School Design.

Visit www.lifecyclebuilding.org for more information

4. Volunteer Profile & Call for Volunteers

This month, Public Architecture wishes to highlight the contributions of Mary Casper, a volunteer who has been assisting Public Architecture since October. In that time, Mary has helped Public Architecture with a number of projects, including most recently, research in support of our Material Reuse Design Initiative. Mary earned her undergraduate degree in sociology and Russian studies from Vassar College in 2006. Her senior thesis, an ethnography of domestic labor, documented the community of quilters in Gee's Bend, Ala., and the success of the project inspired her post-graduation work as a seamster and designer with R.E.Load Baggage and Fabric Horse in Philadelphia. Since relocating to the Bay Area last fall, Mary’s interests have evolved to include urban space, food justice, architecture, and writing. She maintains an active blog, titled “MaryMaker” and can often be found riding her bicycle.

Public Architecture continues to seek individuals for a number of volunteer positions, including The 1% Matching Audit Volunteer. Matching Audit volunteers gain a unique view of The 1% program, and help encourage the culture of pro bono engagement within the design professions. The Matching Audit volunteer must be able to spend at least four hours per week in the Public Architecture office, and make a six-week commitment to the organization.

Please visit the volunteer opportunities page on our website for a listing of other opportunities and their requirements.

5. Highlighted Events in New York and San Francisco

For our friends and readers in New York and San Francisco, we are pleased to announce two upcoming AIA events featuring or co-sponsored by Public Architecture.

Exhibition Opening:
New Practices San Francisco

June 4, 2009 | 6-8pm
AIANY Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Place, New York

New Practices San Francisco is the West Coast premiere of AIA New York's annual portfolio competition and exhibition. Public Architecture, along with five other Bay Area firms has been recognized as an emerging leader that has undertaken innovative strategies--both in projects and practice. The exhibition will remain on display until September 19, when it will travel to San Francisco where it will reopen at the AIASF Center for Architecture+Design in November.

Click here for more information and to RSVP.


Enlightened Spaces: Creating User Experiences That Inspire & Engage

June 23, 2009 | 6-8pm
AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco

With so many bold and innovative ways to create energizing spaces that promote social interaction, architects today have the opportunity to be recognized as the creators of experiences, not simply the creators of the containers in which such experiences take place. This program features presentations by leading experts from diverse fields about how architects can use art, exhibit, sensory elements, interactivity, storytelling and other techniques to create powerful, meaningful and inspiring experiences for users. By incorporating experience into their designs, architects will be able to expand their design palate, take greater control of the environments they create and deliver higher value to their clients.

Click here for more information.

6. Upcoming Public Architecture Activities, Events, & Presentations

Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | June 3, 2009
Class Day Speaker, Harvard Graduate School of Design

NeoCon | Chicago, IL | June 15-17, 2009
Special presenter, The Best of NeoCon Awards 2009 Ceremony
Keynote speakers, Shaw Design Luncheon, IIDA Showroom
Green Giant presentation, Steelcase Showroom

Philip Johnson Glass House | New Canaan, CT | July 7-8, 2009
Invited presenter, "Architects Retreat"

Rockefeller Foundation | Bellagio, Italy | July 13-August 10, 2009
Public Affairs Practitioner Residency

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.