Ten years into my practice, I found myself in a position in which many architecture firm principals do: yearning to provide a more balanced experience for myself and my staff, beyond our largely high-end residential projects and clientele. I wanted to address issues that would have an impact on a larger segment of our community. My first and most obvious thought was for our office to enter a design competition.
As I recalled our previous competition experiences, I began to think critically about the nature of design competitions. More than anything, I couldn’t stop thinking about the hundreds upon hundreds of proposals, representing countless ideas and thousands of hours of work that go into each competition. So much of this work ends up on storage room shelves or in rarely seen portfolios. Is this the most effective use of our collective time and energy? In response, our staff decided to identify a design opportunity closer to home, right outside our office walls. We focused our energies on an open space strategy for San Francisco’s South of Market area.
This humble effort sparked dialogue within multiple city agencies; it directly influenced the development of the city’s Rincon Hill plan; and it became the subject of an unprecedented, day-long workshop with the participation of over 35 key decision-makers and community leaders. It also informed our firm’s fee-generating work and created more opportunities than any other project our firm has taken on to date. In the process, however, it exposed the profound lack of resources and support for pro bono practice within the architecture profession. That revelation inspired the creation of Public Architecture, and, thereafter, our 1% Solution program.
John Peterson
Principal, Peterson Architects
Founder & Chair, Public Architecture
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FOUNDER'S VISION
Design remains John Peterson's foremost passion, and he's worked hard to keep that focus at the forefront of his efforts as both a firm and nonprofit organization leader.
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