The Public Dialogue

By Samantha Given-Dennis

Public Architecture is participating in this summer’s Public Interest Design Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

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By Amy Ress  

The 1% program reached two major milestones last week. They represent significant steps in our mission to institutionalize pro bono practice in the architecture and design professions.

Public Architecture is delighted to announce The 1%’s 1000th firm participant, Brooklyn-based Interboro Partners. We’ve been following the rise of this socially-engaging and innovative firm in recent years and couldn’t be more pleased to bestow this honor on the firm. Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca, and Georgeen Theodore lead a forward-thinking office, doing architecture, urban design, and planning. They are most recently known for “Holding Pattern,” the 2011 winning design for MoMA PS1 Young Architects Program. Interboro’s team created a temporary playful summer environment by first asking groups in the community if there was anything they needed that Interboro could incorporate into the PS1 design. After determining the local community’s needs, the designers built the PS1 program using the requested elements. The project was de-installed four months ago and the components are now being donated back to the community.

“We’re thrilled to be part of The 1% program. Like most people here, we believe that architecture and planning should serve the public, and not just those who can afford the services that architects and planners provide” said Interboro Partners upon learning of The 1%’s 1000th firm designation. “Good, inclusive architecture and planning–especially in the form of public space–is an important ingredient in a democracy. With this pledge, we continue our mission of serving neglected and underserved populations. It’s heartening to know that there are 999 others out there like us!”

Interboro Partners joins a network of architecture and design firms (now 1006) contributing over 300,000 hours of pro bono design services to communities in need, valued at nearly $40 million annually. Read more

The agreement was signed by Robert Ivy, Executive Vice President/Chief Executive Officer of the AIA and John Peterson, Founder and President of Public Architecture.

Public Architecture is pleased to announce the launch of a new partnership with the American Institute of Architects that will encourage AIA members to commit a minimum of 1% of their time to pro bono service. Read more

Increasingly the best champions for Public Architecture and The 1% program are the designers and nonprofits who put design to use every day. In recent months I have had several opportunities to watch our 1% participants share their projects with remarkable passion and dedication. With the pressures of growing an organization it seems that I sometimes forget just how important this work is for professionals and the people we serve.

Our members’ commitment, in what is still a very challenging economic climate, gives me incredible optimism for the future of design’s ability to meet the most pressing needs of our communities. In 2011, we saw more designers than ever join us to seize this opportunity. The 1%, which asks architecture and design firms to pledge one percent of their billable hours to pro bono service, grew to almost 1,000 firms dedicating $38 million to more than 500 nonprofits across the country.

In March, we launched The 1% Design Advocates, a national initiative for exemplary design firms to foster pro bono service in their community through local outreach events. Our pilot project with affiliates of Habitat for Humanity kicked off with innovative designs from across the country to prove that homes of very high environmental and design quality are within reach of Habitat’s clients.

In 2012, you will see us build on our programs and activities from 2011. In March, we will host Design Access, a summit of leaders from design, government, and the social sector, to create an actionable agenda to improve the way we use design as a tool for social change. We will re-launch The 1% platform to make it more flexible, powerful, and inclusive. These and our many other initiatives will be covered on our new media platform, The Public Dialogue.

Just as we are only as strong as the stories told by individual designers and nonprofits across the country, our impact is only guaranteed by the commitment of people just like you. Please join us by making a gift that supports the power of design to change people’s lives.

Click here to donate to Public Architecture.

Thank you in advance, and have a joyous holiday season.

Sincerely,

John Peterson
Founder and President

By Amy Ress

Public Architecture is proud to release Lights on Market Street: A Case Study on Arts and Cultural Revitalization Initiatives. As a partner of the San Francisco Arts Commission to realize Lights on Market Street, we offer this resource to artists, designers, and other city agencies and their partners as they consider or embark on comparable arts and culture initiatives. Read more

By Brian Cavanaugh AIA MAIBC NCARB, Architecture Building Culture, 1% Design Advocate

The 1% Design Advocates are representatives from firms across the country that are helping to build architecture’s commitment to public service by sharing their pro bono experience as well as the benefits and resources available to design professionals, and the nonprofits they serve. They do this by hosting outreach events, such as brown bag office lunches, walking tours of projects, or panel discussions to demonstrate the potential for pro bono design to improve communities.

Portland, Oro. based Design Advocates Architecture Building Culture recently held an exhibition, “The 1%: Design for the Public Good,” and reception at ADX to spark local interest in The 1%.

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By Brad Leibin

Throughout history, one can find evidence that environment has a major role to play in improving public health outcomes. In the 19th Century, infectious diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis claimed millions of lives around the world before it was understood that environmental design measures such as aqueduct systems to supply cities clean drinking water, urban parks, revisions to building codes and zoning ordinances, and improved sewer systems (not medicine) were the most effective means to eliminate disease (i). Despite examples such as this, the importance of environment still too often goes overlooked by the healthcare industry as well as designers. Research done by the World Health Organization (WHO) has shown that many of the most pressing global public health issues of the 21st century are tied to environment. It is estimated that, currently, 24% of the global disease burden and 23% of all deaths can be attributed to environmental factors (ii). In its 2006 paper, “Preventing Disease Through Health Environments,” the WHO paints a picture of the negative impact that inadequate built environments, pollution, and climate are having on disease rates, particularly in the world’s poorest regions.

One might think healthcare facilities would be leaders in adopting sustainable building practices. But it appears, too often, that this is not the case. In United States the healthcare industry is the number one generator of waste (producing 3.4 million pounds, annually), the number two largest consumer of energy (spending $8.5 billion on energy, annually), and consistently ranked among the top 10 users of energy in any given community (ii, iii,iv). Not only does this wastefulness make healthcare more expensive and less accessible than it needs to be, it is makes healthcare a prime contributor to the environmental degradation that the WHO cites as a major causes of worldwide disease. In other words, the healthcare industry may actually be contributing to the spread of the illnesses it is trying to treat (iii). ^{Read more}

By Amy Ress

el dorado/Heartland Habitat for Humanity; illustrative rendering of home design; courtesy of el dorado

Habitat for Humanity believes that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. In 2009, the organization reached out to Public Architecture with an interest in exploring how they could better engage the design community to improve the design and construction process for their 1400 affiliates across the country.

Public Architecture saw their request as an opportunity to advocate that quality design could further Habitat’s mission. We used The 1% program to match a select group of architecture firms, recognized for their residential design excellence and commitment to public service, to work with Habitat affiliates vetted for their building track record and enthusiasm to partner with designers to bring innovation to their plans. Through the generous support of Formica and their commitment to advance the dialogue of sustainable affordable housing, the teams have been challenged to design and build a home that exceeds Habitat’s typical design and sustainability standards. Read more

Join Teknion and Public Architecture back East for the second and third installments of conversations about the opportunities and challenges of using design as a tool to improve communities.

Washington DC:

Jair Lynch, President and CEO, Jair Lynch Development Group
Jess Zimbabwe, Executive Director, Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use, The Urban Land Institute
Gabriel Kroiz, Principal, Kroiz Architecture & BSAED Program Director, Morgan State University
Frank Giblin, Director of Urban Development/Good Neighbor Program, GSA
Moderated by John Peterson, Public Architecture

Date: Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
Agenda: 6:00–6:45 Cocktails and light fare; 6:45–7:45 Presentation; 7:45–9:00 Dessert and coffee with the presenters
Location: Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; 641 D Street NW; Washington, DC 20004
RSVP to: Angie Wasmer at angie.wasmer@teknion.com

Philadelphia:

Beth Miller, Executive Director, Community Design Collaborative
Brian Phillips, Founding Principal, Interface Studio Architects
Deborah Gans, Principal, Gans Studio
Moderated by John Peterson, Public Architecture

Date: Thursday, October 20th, 2011
Agenda: 6:00–6:45 Cocktails and light fare; 6:45–7:45 Presentation; 7:45–9:00 Dessert and coffee with the presenters
Location: Arts Ballroom; 1324 Locust Street; Philadelphia, PA 19107
RSVP to: Natalie Soltis at natalie.soltis@teknion.com or 215.237.1775

By Laura Weiss, Vice President of Service Innovation, Taproot Foundation

When I was twelve years old I decided that I wanted to become an architect. This is approximately the age at which someone described to me what an architect was – “someone who can draw and is good at math” is what I recall. It was also around the time that I became obsessed with the Better Homes and Gardens “Houses of the Year” issue, favoring this form of eye candy over the comic books my grandparents would purchase for me and my siblings on weekend outings.

So I started on my journey to becoming an architect. I entered a professional degree program straight out of high school, followed immediately by another, worked for three fairly diverse architectural firms, took a turn at teaching, and got my license. I was on track for a solid, if narrowly defined, career as an architect.

But in the early 1990’s my path started to twist in ways I never imagined. Not only was it the start of the Gulf War recession and an unstable job market, but it was also the time where free agency and brand you were on their ascendancy as personal professional development strategies, replacing the era of a lifetime career and a gold watch.

Meanwhile I had begun to suspect that architects could do more than just the jobs they were classically trained to do. I remember vividly a 1993 symposium at the Harvard Graduate School of Design that was essentially a ‘call to arms’ for architects to pursue careers that would make a difference. I began broadening my mental model of what being an architect meant to include possible contributions to the larger world of design and innovation, and I essentially reverse engineered my professional experience in an attempt to demonstrate problem-solving capabilities that went beyond just designing buildings. Read more

Join Teknion and Public Architecture in Phoenix on October 6 for the first in a series of conversations about the opportunities and challenges of using design as a tool to improve communities, featuring:

Will Bruder, President, Will Bruder + Partners
Darren Petrucci, Director of The Design School at Arizona State University, Founder and Principal of A-I-R Inc.
Julie Eizenberg, Principal, Koning Eizenberg
John Peterson, Founder and President, Public Architecture Read more

Public Architecture is excited to announce the completion of the Facility Guide for Early Childhood and Elementary Schools, a resource compiled for KIPP Foundation to empower their staff and educators to use the design of their learning environments as a tool to advance a student’s education. Read more