The Public Dialogue

Public Architecture seeks an Administrative Manager who is self-directed and disciplined to administer office and operational logistics, manage and support initiatives, oversee marketing and communications, and provide executive assistance to the Founder & President. Please help spread the word within your communities! The right candidate will possess the following skills and qualifications:

• Excellent writing ability, including editing and proofreading; able to turn abstract thoughts and concepts into written material
• Confident and articulate communicator on the phone, in person, and via email
• At ease balancing multiple and changing priorities with diverse ranges in subject matter
• Takes initiative and set priorities; excels at self-management
• Able to anticipate obstacles, adapt to unforeseen circumstances, and propose solutions
• Finds reward in enabling and supporting others
• Comfortable working as a part of a small team comprised of a variety of personalities and work styles
• Demonstrates tact, diplomacy, judgment, and discretion
• Computer literacy in a PC/Windows environment, including MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint; InDesign, Photoshop, and HTML experience a plus
• Undergraduate degree along with 3-5 years of professional experience in an administrative, program, or executive support role
• An interest in or passion for increasing the social impact of the design of the built environment is preferred but not required

For more details about the core responsibilities of the position and how to apply, click here.

Join Public Architecture and Coalesse for an intimate look at one of our favorite local pro bono design projects: Kiva’s San Francisco headquarters, by STUDIOS Architecture.

On the evening of May 29, project leads from STUDIOS and Kiva will present the behind-the-scenes making of Kiva’s new office space. The Kiva project is widely celebrated for its thoughtful balance of programmatic needs, organizational culture, and creative solutions that led to substantial cost savings. Yet the project also offers valuable lessons about the design process and the unique partnership between designers and pro bono clients. Together, their collaborative relationship enabled STUDIOS and Kiva to successfully realize a shared vision, build a long-term relationship, and leverage the completed project for mutual benefit.

Register here for this free event, and take advantage of this opportunity to take a closer look at the people, processes, and principles that make pro bono design projects a success.

Data from 2011 Firm Survey

Public Architecture, in collaboration with researchers from the Harvard Business School, launches The 1% Firm Survey–our fifth and most comprehensive to date. The 1% Firm Survey is our most important tool to improve The 1% program and understand the participating architecture and design firms’ experience.

The survey is broken down into six major sections covering pro bono management structure, history and active pursuits, matching and program experience, and firms’ profiles. Now its fifth iteration, the survey history is building a consistent set of firm responses that supports our ability to report changes to pro bono practice over time.

We encourage firms representing every design discipline of the more than 1100 firms participating in The 1% program to respond, including landscape architecture, interior design and architecture. Additionally important will be to represent all firm sizes from sole proprietors to large firms.

If your firm is participating in The 1% program, we want to hear from you. If you are not your firm’s main contact for The 1%, please send this link to the person who is.

Take the survey or copy and paste the URL below into your internet browser: https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/WRQualtricsSurveyEngine/?SID=SV_1QXHRvN2uCjjY3j&Preview=Survey&_=1

As an incentive, our friends at Coalesse have generously donated the stylish Hosu convertible work lounge to be given to one randomly selected survey-taker.

By Jennifer Lau

This weekend we had the pleasure of attending the thirteenth annual Structures For Inclusion conference at the University of Minnesota College of Design. This year’s theme—“Dignifying Design”—was a fitting conclusion to the first ever Public Interest Design Week (#PIDWeek) and featured presentations by some of the most inspirational leaders in the field today, including many friends, colleagues, and former Public Architecture staff. Read more

Bionic's India Basin Waterfront and Adventure Park

We are pleased to join ASLA-NCC this Thursday March 21 for their pro bono lecture, featuring a talk by our own Amy Ress, The 1% Program Manager, and pecha kucha presentations of pro bono projects from five local landscape firms:

India Basin Waterfront and Adventure Park – Bionic
San Francisco Panhandle Bandshell – CMG Landscape Architecture
Baker Place Recovery Center Healing Garden – SWA Group
Fallen Bridge Park – Miller Company Landscape Architects
Miller Creek School Garden – April Phillips Design Works

The lecture will be at AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street. There is a reception from 6:30-7:00, followed by the presentations and Q&A from 7:00-8:45. The event is $10 for ASLA members, $15 for non-members, and free for students.

We look forward to an interesting and inspiring evening — hope to see you there!

By Jennifer Lau

From February 27 to March 1, 2013 at the Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California, Public Architecture convened leaders from government, design, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropy at the second annual Design Access Summit. Design Access is an opportunity for leaders within the aforementioned sectors to acknowledge the profound impact of the design of the built environment on human and environmental health, economic prosperity, and social justice, as well as to advance our collective ability to leverage the design of the built environment as a tool for social gain. Read more

The Public Interest Design Program at the University of Texas at Austin (UTPID) is a summer program that is supported by the Center for Sustainable Development within the School of Architecture. The primary aim of the Public Interest Design Program is to connect students from a myriad of disciplines interested in the relationship between public service and the built environment to projects that address real community needs. Through rigorous exploration of how each of these terms affects design, UTPID challenges students to develop theoretical and practical skills to respond to the ethical complications of engaging the public and its spaces.

The 2013 PID program offers three separate elements: a five-day student leadership summit held at the beginning of the summer, and two summer course options. Students interested in summer coursework can earn credit through a ten-week design/build practicum or a student research seminar measuring the social impacts of public interest design projects. The summit is not a prerequisite to the coursework.

Public Architecture will again be hosting students for the externship part of the research seminar summer coursework option. Student will spend 5 weeks learning the analytic techniques of post-occupancy analysis and then spend a second 5 week period collecting and interpreting data related to selected projects based out of our office in San Francisco. Students will author a report that adopts the SEED Network metric as a process and outcome evaluation tool, measures the degree to which there is a gap between intention and reception, and contributes new data to a growing body of empirical knowledge about the built world.

Applications are being accepted to the externship program until April 1, 2013. To apply, click here. For more information, visit www.soa.utexas.edu/csd/PID.

Public Architecture is pleased to release Kiva Headquarters, the second of an on-going series of case studies that feature projects by the American Institute of Architects members participating in The 1% program who are making pro bono service an integral part of design practice. The San Francisco-based international nonprofit, Kiva, has the mission to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty. STUDIOS Architecture provided Kiva with a new workspace that supports both their mission and their culture within the constraints of a limited budget.

As a strategic alliance, Public Architecture is one of several organizations supporting the architectural profession that the AIA confers with to obtain and share information to assist members. Click here to find out more information on The 1% program and the AIA partnership. 

Are you an architect member of the AIA, but not a part of The 1% network that is making a difference? Join now.

If your firm already signed on to The 1% and you have been involved in a pro bono project, the AIA and Public Architecture would like to know more. Tell us about it!

This month Interface and Universal Fibers teamed up to support Public Architecture’s 1% program and designers who want to do meaningful work at work. Thanks to supporters like you, we’re more than halfway to our goal of $20,000—and we still have a week to go!

Between now and February 25^th, all you need to do is share, love, and retweet stories with the everyONE logo and/or hashtag (#IFeveryONE) to make the equivalent of a $2 donation to Public Architecture. With a simple click, you can help us show the world how everyONE in the design community can make a difference.

Check out the everyONE campaign images below for a dose of inspiration and the chance to help us expand pro bono design resources and opportunities. Whether one image stands out—or you love all six—simply click the images below to start sharing and help us reach our $20,000 goal!

Read more

By Lindsay A. Jester, Associate, Long & Levit LLP

Public Architecture’s pro bono legal counsel, Steven Sharafian, Esq. of Long & Levit LLP, recently brought to our attention a potentially alarming issue for architects and designers practicing in California. We recall him saying that the legal changes initiated by a series of recent California court cases could have a dramatic impact upon design professionals. We quickly became aware that language in The 1% pro bono design program’s own Hold Harmless and Release Agreement had taken on a new—and in the case of our agreement—unintended meaning. To relieve firms of this legal burden Public Architecture amended and reissued its agreement to over 1100 participating firms across the country.  The following article explores this indemnification and duty to defend issue deeper.

The design and construction industry has a long history of evaluating and managing risk.  Design service agreements typically contain contract provisions that address the potential of loss or damage present on most projects.  One such clause, indemnity, has received national attention of late in an insightful 8 December 2012 New York Times Opinion article entitled “Those Crazy Indemnity Forms We All Sign.”  Here in California, where Long & Levit provides legal services to architects, engineers, and landscape architects, indemnity has recently taken on a potentially dangerous new meaning.  The implications raised by this California development have nationwide significance related to the interrelationship between the obligation to indemnify and the duty to defend.  This article explores this recent development and offers language to help mitigate the risk posed by indemnification clauses. Read more

The 2013 Call for Applications has been annouced by The American Architectural Foundation (AAF) for their Sustainable Cities Design Academy (SCDA).

SCDA connects project teams and multi-disciplinary sustainable design experts through highly interactive design workshops that help project teams advance their green infrastructure and community development goals.

Successful applicants will join AAF for one of two design workshops in Washington, DC:

June 5-7, 2013

September 11-13, 2013

To learn more and download the application, click here. Public-private partnership project teams are encouraged to apply.

To help support and advance good sustainable design practices, the American Architectural Foundation created the Sustainable Cities Design Academy (SCDA) in 2009. This initiative provides leadership development and technical assistance to local community leaders who are engaged in planning a sustainable building project in their community. Through SCDA, AAF seeks to educate, inspire, and support these local government, business, and community leaders and developers. SCDA also provides them with the resources and tools they need to develop long-term solutions for their communities.

As an architect or designer you have the power to make a difference. That’s why Interface and Universal Fibers invite you to support Public Architecture’s 1% program. In turn, we will support the design community to do meaningful work at work. Start the movement! Here’s how:

From now until March 1, you can make a donation to Public Architecture with a few simple actions:

• Every time you share, retweet or love a story that includes the everyONE logo or hashtag (#IFeveryONE) on Interface’s social channels, Interface will donate $1 to Public Architecture.
• Spread the word to your colleagues and peers. Download the Facebook Cover Photo image from Public Architecture’s Facebook page and upload it to your Facebook page from now until March 1, 2013.

On March 1, Universal Fibers will match Interface’s donation dollar for dollar. We’ll show how together, everyONE in the design community can make a difference.