November 2010
Dear Friends of Public Architecture: Public interest design relies on collaboration and this month we would like to highlight our newly formed partnership with Design Ignites Change. Co-founded by the Adobe Foundation and World Studio, Design Ignites Change challenges students to use design to address pressing social issues. Through their programming, they support educators to implement design-oriented school programs, showcase the work done by students to change the world, and provide a platform for professional designers and university students to mentor the next generation of designers. 
At Public Architecture, we have reached out to young designers through lectures, social media, and teaching. We do however see the limitations of our own work to involve students at a broad scale and cannot express enough the value of the work done by organizations like Design Ignites Change, Project H Design, AIAS, and others to ensure that students see the potential for the design of the physical world to improve people’s lives. Please take a look at the opportunities that Design Ignites Change has to mentor and engage students through their Create! Don't Hate and School: by Design programs.
Sincerely,
John Peterson, AIA
Founder & President
Contents:
1. Omega Center achieves "Living Building" status
2. Public Architecture at GreenBuild
3. The 1% on Facebook
4. The 1% Nonprofit Featured Service Request
5. Volunteer Spotlight: Matt Weller
6. Thank You: BPS Reprographics
7. Interesting Reads This Month
8. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation
1. Omega Center achieves "Living Building" status 
The Omega Center for Sustainable Living, a project featured in Public Architecture's recently released Design for Reuse Primer, achieved certification last month as one of the first two Living Buildings in the world through the Living Building Challenge (LBC). The LBC is a new sustainability standard developed by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council. Its goal is to promote the most advanced measures of social, environmental, and economic sustainability possible today.
The LBC is framed around seven performance categories, including energy, materials, and beauty. It has specific requirements about the properties of materials which can be used and the maximum distances these materials can be transported. Material reuse helped the Omega Center project to meet these requirements without breaking the bank. In the Design for Reuse Primer case study on the Omega Center, you can learn more about the project and the integral role played by material reuse. Congratulations to the Omega Center project team and the client, the Omega Institute, for this incredible accomplishment.
2. Public Architecture at GreenBuild  This week GreenBuild begins in Chicago. The colossal expo and conference will feature thought leaders, practitioners, activists and manufacturers in the green building industry. Public Architecture is proud to take part as a presented researcher, a moderator and also a representative for our partners at the Holcim Design Awards for Sustainable Construction. Come visit us at Booth #1739.
Associate Design Director Liz Ogbu will be moderating a panel, "2010 Natural Design Competition: Young Designers Help Rebuild New Orleans" at 4:00 pm on Wednesday, November 17 in Room W196C. A poster summarizing the research work done for the Design for Reuse Primer will be on display throughout the conference in the Research Gallery across from Room 193AB, Level 1, McCormick Place West.
3. The 1% on Facebook 
This month, Public Architecture is launching a new Facebook page exclusively for firm and nonprofit members of The 1%. We invite you to share projects, connect with other firms and nonprofits working pro bono, discuss the particular challenges of pro bono design, and to catch up on the most recent news in the pro bono design world. Our hope is that The 1% Facebook page will further grow the community, provide support for those with questions, and allow for more interactivity between participants. In the coming year, we will be fundraising to vastly improve The 1% website and aim to incorporate all these features in the site. We welcome all 1% participants to join, learn and share.
4. The 1% Nonprofit Featured Service Request BELL (Building Educated Leaders for Life)
Service Request: Interior Design & Brand Integration
 BELL exists to expand the academic achievements, self-esteem, and life opportunities of children living in under-resourced, urban communities. The national organization, with offices in New York City, Baltimore and Dorchester, Massachusetts, has undergone a rebrand of its graphic identity, and now seeks the help of an interior design firm to help embody the brand in their physical environment.
The project focuses on updating the 9000 sq ft national headquarters in Dorchester, and BELL hopes the strategy can be replicated in the other regional offices. With a staff of 45 and a large number of visiting partners and parents, BELL wants the re-designed space to convey confidence, determination, and respect. Using their new colors, BELL's space aims to express that "children will excel," in an environment that is "smart, fun, dynamic, collaborative, can-do, and resourceful." BELL can allocate some funds that remain from the branding campaign. They would like to begin the project before the New Year and complete it within a few months.
The 1% continues to grow, starting November with 861 firms and 424 nonprofits. To see a list of new 1% participants since October, click here.
Visit www.theonepercent.org for more information.
5. Volunteer Spotlight: Matt Weller 
It's not very often we get an Eagle Scout in the office, so we were glad to have Matt Weller work with us on countless research and program development projects. Specifically, his energy and enthusiasm were essential to building the foundation for The 1% Design Advocates initiative being launched this fall and completing the Pro Bono Design Handbooks for Designers and Nonprofits. His final project was an in-depth look at the structures of nonprofit finance, work that will pay dividends long into the future as Public Architecture grows The 1% program.
Matt studied Communications and Literature at the University of California, San Diego, and juggled his work at Public Architecture with full time employment as well as the pursuit of his own interests in design business models and innovative practices. His dedication and engagement with Public Architecture's work and mission made him an invaluable part of the team here. We're sad to see him go, but can't wait to hear about what he does next. We also wish Matt and his new wife, Brianna, future happiness as they move onto this next phase of their lives.
6. Thank You: BPS Reprographics
 Public Architecture would like to thank BPS Reprographics Services, a company which has a long history as a recognized leader in document imaging and distribution for the A/E/C community in the Bay Area. Last month, BPS generously donated Public Architecture two, large-format prints of a poster we designed about our research for the Design for Reuse Primer. That poster will be on display at the USGBC's 2010 Greenbuild Conference this week. We are extremely grateful to BPS for this support.
7. November Interesting Reads and Events Pentagram | "New Work"
The Power of Pro Bono is featured new work at Pentagram.
GOOD Magazine | "Catie Newell's Salvaged Landscape"
Remnants of an arsoned house in Detroit are repurposed into a beautiful public art piece.
New York Times | "U.S. to Send Visual Artists as Cultural Ambassadors"
Obama administration takes new approach to cultural diplomacy through public art.
TED | "Emily Pilloton Teaching Design for Change"
It's not just the high schoolers that are learning from this design-build.
Art Threat | "Artists recycle waste into beautiful enigma"
Convergence showcases compelling works of art resurrected from trash.
Change Observer | "Winterhouse Symposium on Design Education and Social Change"
Educators discuss challenges and next steps in social design education.
8. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation GreenBuild | Chicago, IL | November 15-17, 2010
Panel Moderator, "2010 Natural Design Competition: Young Designers Help Rebuild New Orleans"
AIA Diversity and Inclusion Summit | New Orleans, LA | January 13-15, 2011
Invited Panelist, "The New Traditional Architect" Click here for a complete list of upcoming presentations.
 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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