November 2008

Dear Friends of Public Architecture:

It is my great pleasure to announce that the Day Labor Station design initiative of Public Architecture has been awarded the $50,000 Silver Prize of the Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction (North American Region). To put our Silver Prize in perspective, the previous honoree at this level was the recently-completed California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park by Renzo Piano. Attracting nearly 5,000 submissions from 90 countries this year, the awards celebrate innovative sustainable construction projects from around the globe. The competition is run in parallel in five global regions with the three top prizewinners from each region advancing to compete for the global Holcim Awards in May 2009.

We take particular pride in this award due to the Holcim Foundation’s holistic view of sustainability. We have a shared belief that sustainability is more than just being “green”; the economic and social sustainability of projects must be considered as equally as the environmental aspects. This “triple bottom line” is a hallmark of Public Architecture’s work, and we are encouraged by this recognition from the Holcim Foundation.

From its inception, the Day Labor Station has been a collaborative effort. Among many others, we would like to specifically thank volunteers Amber Kendrick and Phoebe Schenker who generated new visual materials for our Holcim Award submission. Click here to see their good work as well as to learn more about the Day Labor Station and the Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction.

John Peterson
Founder & President
 

Contents:
1. New Book: “Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism”
2. 14 Firms, 12 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program in October
3. Pro Bono: Now More than Ever
4. Berkeley Prize Undergraduate Essay Competition
5. ADU Prototype Projects in Austin, Texas
6. Upcoming Presentations
7. Support Public Architecture

1. New Book: “Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism”

As profiled in the October issue of Metropolis magazine, Expanding Architecture: Design as Activism is a groundbreaking new book uniting 30 essays by architects and designers, urban and community planners, historians, landscape architects, environmental designers, and members of other fields. Expanding Architecture illustrates the ways in which design can address issues of social justice and impact a much larger percentage of the population. Public Architecture is proud to have an essay, “Mobilizing Mainstream Professionals to Work for the Public Good,” contributed by founder John Peterson, included in this important publication.

Expanding Architecture is co-edited by Bryan Bell & Katie Wakeford of nonprofit Design Corps. Building on Bell’s first book, Good Deeds, Good Design (Princeton Architectural Press, 2004), and other recent landmark publications such as Design Like You Give a Damn (Metropolis Books, 2006), Expanding Architecture serves as a guide for designers to take on the social, economic, and environmental challenges we face today.

Expanding Architecture is available for $34.95 from Metropolis Books through Distributed Art Publishers. Click here for more information.

2. 14 Firms, 12 Nonprofits Join The 1% Program in October

October saw more steady growth in registrations for The 1% program as 14 firms and 12 nonprofits registered with the program.

Click here for a complete list of these new participants.

These new additions bring to 418 the number of firms registered to date and to 194 the number of nonprofits registered. Two of those participants, one a firm and the other a nonprofit, share their thoughts on pro bono design below.

“We realize that, in our given talents and through our own training and experiences, we have an incredible resource of knowledge, education, and expertise that can benefit our community. We see our professional responsibility extending to the needs of our community…we not only share our talents and help provide services to those in need, but we learn from others in the process.”
--Trevor Harrison, HBT Architects (Pittsford, NY)

“We want to be a national model for community based organizations specializing in the prevention of homelessness, and in culturally competent substance abuse and mental health treatment. We would love for our buildings to demonstrate how green technology can be an essential element of rehabilitative and social services. Rethinking our agency's living/work spaces as a way of providing more opportunities for clients, staff, and neighborhood residents to engage with the local environment and each other can produce profound effects within ourselves and our community.”
--Joella Mosley, Neighbors' Consejo (Washington, DC)

Visit www.theonepercent.org for more information.

3. Pro Bono: Now More Than Ever

The following is a note on the power of pro bono even in uncertain economic times from Aaron Hurst, President of the Taproot Foundation, who Public Architecture is fortunate to count as a key advisor and strong supporter. In his weekly Pro Bono Junkie's Blog, Aaron writes:

"The supply and demand for pro bono services is inversely correlated to the strength of the economy. With the fall of the market, we see a sharp increase in: people in need of services from nonprofits; nonprofits in need of professional services to help sustain their revenues and identify ways to increase efficiencies; and talented business professionals raising their hands to donate their skills.

We often see the greatest examples of civic engagement during tough times. The silver lining amid all the suffering is that these times cause us to reflect and put our lives into perspective. We see how close we are to having our reality collapse and suddenly have compassion for those we had beforehand only read about in the paper--those who once seemed so foreign.

It is in these times that the government, corporations, and philanthropic leaders must create vehicles for the newly compassionate to convert their intention into action. Some individuals will only engage in a short window of service, which will end when the headlines change. For many more professionals, it will be the start of a life-long commitment to service, their community, and to society as a whole. America needs to engage these citizen professionals. They are the next social entrepreneurs, politicians, and community leaders. They will be our children's role models."

Click here to read the full post and offer your thoughts.

4. Berkeley Prize Undergraduate Essay Competition

Submission deadline: December 1, 2008

The Berkeley Prize Competition was established to promote architecture as a social art through research, writing, and criticism: traditionally under-represented aspects of the architecture curriculum. The topic of this year's competition is "Sustainable Architecture/Traditional Wisdom.” Students enrolled in any undergraduate architecture program around the world are invited to submit a 500-word essay proposal responding to a question posed by the competition committee.

While only a small percentage of our newsletter readership are undergraduate students, we hope that more senior readers will bring this unique competition to undergraduates they may know. The competition was established and is chaired by Raymond Lifchez, a special friend and supporter of Public Architecture. Liz Ogbu and John Peterson are past jurors of the competition, and John Cary has been a committee member and advisor to the competition since its establishment.

Visit www.berkeleyprize.org for more information.

5. ADU Prototype Projects in Austin, Texas

During one our many travels, Public Architecture recently had the pleasure of visiting Austin, Texas, home to a growing Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) movement. ADUs--commonly called in-law units, secondary apartments, or granny flats--are viable mechanisms for creating affordable, multi-generational housing, without dramatically changing the character of existing neighborhoods or communities.

Following a major report produced by the University of Texas at Austin, which identified over 45,000 potential ADU sites within the Austin city limits, a new program called the “Alley Flat Initiative” was launched as a collaboration between the UT Center for Sustainable Development, the Guadalupe Neighborhood Development Corporation, the Austin Community Design & Development Center, and the BaSiC Initiative.

The initial goal of the project was to build two prototype infill units or 'alley flats' that will showcase the innovative design and environmental sustainability features of the alley flat homes. One of the prototypes was recently completed and is now occupied. The long-term objective of the initiative is to create a flexible and self-perpetuating delivery system for sustainable and affordable housing in Austin. This "delivery system" would include not only efficient housing designs constructed with sustainable technologies, but also innovative methods of financing and home ownership.

Visit www.thealleyflatinitiative.org for more information.

6. Upcoming Presentations

Build Boston Tradeshow | Boston | November 19-20, 2008
Invited panelist, "Pro Bono in Practice"

AIA San Francisco | November 19, 2008
Invited panelist, “Giving Back: Pro Bono Work in Architecture”

Greenbuild | Boston | November 20, 2008
Keynote speaker, Steelcase Showroom, "Sustainability: The Holistic Version"
Featured guest, Steelcase Exhibition Booth, "Chat with a Green Giant"

MIT | Cambridge, MA | November 21, 2008
Invited speaker

Click here for a complete list of upcoming presentations.

7. Support Public Architecture


Click here for 10 ways to contribute to our work.

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.