September 2009
Dear Friends of Public Architecture:
 We were surprised, as you may be, to read the following headline in the Tuesday edition of The Wall Street Journal: "Pro Bono Work Helps Firms Fight Economic Slump." The article profiles architect Gail Sullivan and her firm Studio G Architects, a proud member of The 1% program. "Offering pro bono services has given us a chance to maintain our design vigor and resulted in people hiring us," says Sullivan. WSJ Business writer Raymund Flandez goes on to say, "For a small business that has lost clients or seen revenue-generating projects dry up, performing free work is a way to keep employees engaged while cultivating new relationships." It's our view at Public Architecture that pro bono work is a platform for all this and more. And we're not alone in this belief; in recent months The 1% firm registrations and matching activity has been continually increasing.
 Another clear sign of activity has come in the form of dozens upon dozens of pro bono project submissions for our forthcoming book. The official deadline for submissions is tomorrow, Friday, September 4th, but we have already received inspiring pro bono design projects for inner city libraries and schools from LA to New York, social service agency offices throughout the Midwest and South, stunning single-family homes in some of the hardest hit neighborhoods of New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. The response has been heartening, to say the least. The book will include projects from boutique design firms like Pugh+Scarpa and Studio G Architects as well as projects from design giants like Gehry Partners, Gensler, HOK, and Perkins+Will. Do you know of a great pro bono project? Submissions (and referrals) are welcome through Friday. Click here for more details.
John Peterson, AIA
Founder & President
Contents:
1. The 1% Program Welcomes 19 Firms and 13 Nonprofits in August
2. Pro Bono: An An Emerging Trend in American Professional Schools
3. New Day Labor Station Renderings Released
4. Volunteer Spotlight: Francesco Fanfani
5. Public Architecture Seeks to Fill Four Volunteer Positions
6. Summer Associate Spotlight: Heera Basi
7. Partner Spotlight: The Albert Group and Cannon Constructors
8. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation
1. The 1% Program Welcomes 19 Firms and 13 Nonprofits in August
 Since our August newsletter, The 1% program has welcomed 19 firms and 13 nonprofits, bringing the program to a total of 626 firms and 285 nonprofit participants. Click here for a complete list of new participants.
Firm members of The 1% program continue to help communities out in difficult times by providing pro bono design services supporting one of our most basic needs: shelter. Here are two current shelter projects that are making a difference:
Unalaska Christian Fellowship hopes to reach those in need in Unalaska, Alaska. Located on a remote island in the Bering Sea, severe weather in Alaska creates a dangerous situation for the homeless, often stranded fishermen and processors. Answering the call to service, the firm mayer sattler-smith of Anchorage, Alaska, has partnered with the Fellowship. The multidisciplinary design firm is providing pro bono design services on the Alexandria House project, a homeless shelter that will house eight people in need of shelter. "This is a dream come true. We have had homeless people sleeping in the church, cars, caves, bunkhouses, and hotels," says Pastor John Honan. With property and construction materials already donated, the Fellowship is thrilled to receive architectural services from mayer sattler-smith.
Jeni Webber Landscape Architect, a sole-practitioner based in Berkeley, Calif., "believes a diversity of clients with a range of needs makes her practice more meaningful." A participant of The 1% program since 2008, Webber has provided pro bono services to Habitat for Humanity's East Bay Chapter in Oakland, Calif.--a nonprofit whose mission is to create successful homeownership opportunities for families with limited incomes by building sustainable housing aimed at revitalizing neighborhoods. Webber has contributed landscape design services on the 1.92 acres Edes Avenue development project (in-progress), consisting of 26 new homes in the Sobrante Park Neighborhood of East Oakland that will house 54 families.
Visit www.theonepercent.org for more information.
2. Pro Bono: An An Emerging Trend in American Professional Schools
 Public Architecture is pleased to promote an important new white paper, titled "Pro Bono: An Emerging Trend in American Professional Schools." Researched and written by our partners at the Taproot Foundation, this paper demonstrates a growing interest in cultivating a pro bono ethic within professional schools by exploring the origin and evolution of this ethic, highlighting case studies and best practices, studying roles and dynamics of students and faculty, and discussing opportunities to allocate greater resources toward future initiatives.
We encourage you to read the paper and forward it to your contacts in architecture, business, law, and other professional schools.
Click here to download a PDF of "Pro Bono: An Emerging Trend in American Professional Schools."
3. New Day Labor Station Renderings Released
 Public Architecture recently posted several new Day Labor Station renderings to our website. These renderings were produced with the help of our very talented volunteer, Francesco Fanfani, profiled below. The Day Labor Station shown in these images will be located at a specific site in Los Angeles. It will be the first official Day Labor Station and it is configured differently than the original prototype. The Station proposed for this particular Los Angeles site is 'L-shaped' to accommodate a sizeable population of 150 workers. The configuration also takes advantage of the large site to incorporate several neighborhood amenities such as a community garden and a café. In addition to the direct benefits such amenities will offer to workers and surrounding residents, they are also intended to provide an opportunity for interaction between both groups.
Public Architecture is very grateful for the relationship it has built with the National Day Labor Organizing Network (NDLON) and we look forward to a partnership with NDLON as we work to implement this first Day Labor Station.
Click here to learn more about the Day Labor Station.
4. Volunteer Spotlight: Francesco Fanfani
 This month, Public Architecture would like to highlight the extraordinary contributions of a unique and talented volunteer: Italian architect, Francesco Fanfani. Francesco came to San Francisco by way of his home in Florence, Italy on a six-month visa. Prior to his arrival in San Francisco, Francesco worked for three years as a designer at the firm ipostudio in Florence. He learned of Public Architecture while in Italy, through reading an Italian sociology text featuring our Sidewalk Plazas project and an interview with Founder John Peterson. Francesco volunteered on a nearly full-time basis this summer, contributing his graphic and visualization skills to produce a series of very high-quality renderings of our Los Angeles Day Labor Station proposal. As we work to implement this first Day Labor Station, the images produced by Francesco have been an invaluable asset to us in promoting and seeking funding for the project.
 During the month of August, Francesco was out of the office on a road-trip through the American southwest. If you live in that part of the country, you may have seen Francesco drive by in a borrowed 1984 Red Volvo, pictured above. Despite a broken air-conditioning system and coyote encounters, Francesco returned to us in one piece earlier this week. We look forward to having him back in the office and will truly miss him after his return to Italy in October.
5. Public Architecture Seeks to Fill Four Volunteer Positions
 Public Architecture seeks the involvement of at least four volunteers to aid our efforts to create positive community change through design. Volunteers provide crucial support to advance Public Architecture's mission. They have the opportunity to work with directly with our full-time professional staff and other partners, amassing new contacts and skills.
Skills desired in this round include administrative, editorial, and research assistance. These volunteer opportunities are available immediately and time commitments range from a few hours a month to four hours a week. Both in-office and remote opportunities exist.
Interested parties should email info@publicarchitecture.org expressing interest and include a resume, and, where appropriate, any available work samples. Upon receipt of said materials, candidates will be asked to fill out a brief online questionnaire.
Volunteer positions are very competitive and Public Architecture is regretfully not able to accommodate all those interested.
Click here to view the Volunteers page of the Public Architecture website.
6. Summer Associate Spotlight: Heera Basi
 Each year, Public Architecture issues a call for applications for outstanding students to join our staff as Summer Associates. This year, among the dozens of applications, two exceptional candidates, Heera Basi and Trudy Garber, rose above the rest. Trudy was profiled in last month's newsletter, so we want to take this opportunity to introduce Heera Basi and thank her for her extraordinary work to date, primarily conducting case study interviews and providing other assistance for our forthcoming pro bono design book.
Heera is currently pursuing her Master of Architecture from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is interested in the impact of multi-cultural populations on the architecture and urban landscape of cities. Through design studios and research at UCLA, she has explored the influence of Los Angeles' multi-ethnic population on the city's evolving architecture and urban environment through public space and affordable housing. Heera earned her Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in urban studies and planning, from the University of California, San Diego. At UCSD, she earned highest honors on her senior year honors thesis project, for which she researched architectural approaches to affordable housing for a predominantly Latino resident population.
Our next call for Summer Associates will be issued in early-2010.
7. Partner Spotlight: The Albert Group and Cannon Constructors
This month, we would like to highlight The Albert Group and Cannon Constructors, both of whom are providing significant construction guidance for the Day Labor Station.
 The Albert Group is a San Francisco-based construction management company specializing in commercial real estate. Involved in projects throughout California, Nevada, and Colorado, the company brings a thoughtful and critical eye to all the projects that they engage in. Their insight and assistance on our Day Labor Station have proven invaluable.
 Cannon Constructors is a construction firm specializing in tenant improvement, and core and shell construction projects throughout California. Like the Albert Group, Cannon has been a dedicated partner. Their willingness to think outside of the box and to participate in a more integrated design process has been key in advancing the design's development.
8. Upcoming Public Architecture Presentations & Participation
United Nations | Santiago, Chile | September 8-9, 2009
Invited speaker, International Seminar on Public Spaces
Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, LA | September 16, 2009
Invited speaker
Humanscale | Seattle, WA | September 24, 2009
Invited speaker, "Design Smart Seminar Series"
AIA Utah Design Conference | Salt Lake City, UT | September 25, 2009
Keynote speaker
DFC Summit on Sustainable Design | Chicago, IL | Sept. 30-Oct. 2, 2009
Delegate & Chair, Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program
Humanscale | New York, NY | October 7, 2009
Invited speaker, "Design Smart Seminar Series"
AIA Montana | Bozeman, MT | October 9, 2009
Invited speaker
Hobart & William Smith Colleges | Geneva, NY | October 20-22, 2009
Invited lecturer
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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