Archinect - News

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture offers $20,000 pro-bono Design for All Partnership to south Texas nonprofits

2023-04-20T16:50:00-04:00

A unique new philanthropic initiative from Michael Hsu Office of Architecture (MHOA) is offering nonprofits in the Austin, Texas area the chance to win a $20,000 pro-bono consultation in the interests of providing much-needed space to organizations affected by the city’s rapid transformation into a new capital for America’s high-tech industries.

The firm recently announced it will be accepting design proposals for what is now its second iteration of the Design for All Partnership "seed program" that last year afforded the organization Austin Angels the chance to construct a new foster care facility at a vacant former church lot in the Buda neighborhood.

"A lot of these nonprofits are having a hard time finding affordable space," MHOA founder Hsu told the Austin Chronicle of his firm’s endeavor. "And there's all sorts of challenges in trying to build something even if they do find a space because it's so time-intensive. There's a lot of hidden costs, and part of this [partnership] i...

Pro bono architecture initiative, Architects Assist, connects architects with people in need

2020-01-13T19:19:00-05:00

The massive brushfires in Australia have damaged a large portion of the country's landscape. As of today, according to BBC News, "more than 100 fires are still burning in the states of New South Wales and Victoria." Many have lost their homes and family members in addition to the amount of wildlife impacted by the fires. However, as with previous large-scale tragedies such as this, people have started to come together to provide aid to those impacted.

On January 4, 2020, architect Jiri Lev of, Atelier Jiri Lev, established Architects Assist, an initiative that aims to provide planning and design assistance to those who have lost their homes during the fire. According to the Architects Assist website, the initiative "acts as a simple referral service between clients and registered architects (it does not itself provide architectural services)." An initiative run under mantle of the Australian Institutes of Architects, Architects Assists has rallied to provide support for current and...

Foster + Partners to design new boathouse for NYC's underserved communities

2018-07-18T14:32:00-04:00

Row New York announced [...] that award-winning architecture firm Foster + Partners will design a new boathouse and flagship location for the nonprofit organization, which offers a competitive rowing and academic success program to students from underserved communities throughout New York City. The new 14,000-square- foot facility is being designed pro bono by Foster + Partners in association with Bade Stageberg Cox [...].

"Located on the Harlem River in northern Manhattan, the new boathouse will allow Row New York to dramatically expand its youth program for middle and high school students from New York’s most underserved schools and will feature a learning center with two state-of-the-art classrooms to accommodate the organization’s academic programs," reads the announcement from nonprofit Row New York.

"It will also broaden community access to the waterfront, with five boat bays that can accommodate up to 60 boats, community programming, and kayaks for public use. Designs for the boathouse, which are going through an approval process with NYC Parks and the Public Design Commission, are expected to be unveiled in fall 2018."

How Frank Gehry was won over to design the Watts Children's Institute pro bono

2016-10-21T13:44:00-04:00

"We explained what the agency does and what we stand for, and he gave me a handshake right there," offering to work pro bono. [...] Of his design — a series of two-story, garden-surrounded buildings that echo the modest scale of the neighborhood, their shiny roofs the only Gehry-esque note — he says: "This building is not fancy but has all of my heart and soul in it. I worked hard to make spaces for the kids and families that would use it so that they would feel special."

Gehry's Watts involvement previously in the Archinect news:

Frank Gehry-designed children's center planned for Watts neighborhood in L.A.

2015-09-14T19:48:00-04:00

Frank Gehry, whose firm provided the work free of charge, spelled out his vision for a piece of property that extends nearly two blocks. The two-story structures will fit the neighborhood... offering a scale and a 'body language' that is residential in nature...[The] Children's Institute project is one of several signs that new services and amenities are coming to the neighborhood, which recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the historic civil unrest that erupted in 1965.

More recent Frank Gehry-related news on Archinect:

Gehry's product designs to be honored by Museum of California Design

Frank Gehry opens up about the emotional side of his architecture

Frank Gehry's renderings for L.A.'s Sunset Strip revealed

Gehry to prioritize hydrology in LA River revitalization strategy

Looking to "Frank Gehry", after Paris but before Los Angeles

Toshiko Mori designs pro-bono a new artists' residency in Senegal

2015-01-15T15:45:00-05:00

The rural village of Sinthian in southeastern Senegal is home to the THREAD arts center, a new artists' residency and cultural community space set to open this March. The idea for the arts center originated from the long-term efforts of doctor and local Sinthian leader, Magueye Ba, who spearheaded the project with environmental sustainability expert Moussa Sene and The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. The project has already gained deserved recognition with a selection for the 2014 Venice Biennale and an AIANY award.

Designed pro-bono by New York-based Toshiko Mori Architect, the art center's design incorporates local materials and building customs. While local masons and villagers provided their expertise on working with bamboo, brick, and thatch, Mori rendered those materials into a contemporary geometric design that complements its surrounding flat landscape. The structure's most notable feature is its inverted roof that can collect and retain rainwater to provide for 40% of the ...

A Call for Design Entrepreneurs

2012-05-07T14:25:00-04:00

MASS Design Group is one of a handful of nonprofits showing that design isn’t just for the wealthy, nor is it just image-making. The challenge, for MASS and others trying to do public service design work, is to make their operations financially sustainable. As students, MASS provided much of their work on the Butaro Hospital pro bono, but they are not students anymore. The staff of MASS eclipsed 20 in the past year...

Architects Support Students' Call for Pro Bono Work in Exchange for Loan Relief

2012-04-25T18:24:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) today called for Congress to pass legislation that includes architecture school graduates in the same programs that offer other graduates loan debt assistance if they donate their services to their communities and elsewhere.

The AIA/AIAS initiative comes as both President Obama this past weekend and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney today urged Congress to head off a scheduled increase in student loan interest rates this July.

Also today, the AIAS released a survey of almost 600 architect school graduates showing that graduating architecture students carry a much higher amount of undergraduate student debt - $40,000 on average – than the national student loan debt average of $25,000. AIAS members will visit Capitol Hill in July to lobby lawmakers on these issues.

“There are numerous opportunities for young talented architects to use their skills to help rebuild our nation’s communities,” said AIA President Jeff Potter, FAIA. “Yet, more and more young architects are leaving the profession because they cannot afford to remain; this brain-drain will have major implications for our communities and the construction industry in the years ahead.”

“The AIA and AIAS are not asking for a ...

Toward A Vision — The Great Lakes Century

2012-03-28T14:12:00-04:00

The Great Lakes Century is a pro bono initiative of SOM's City Design Practice. We found dozens of important efforts to clean and protect the Lakes and the St. Lawrence, but no comprehensive vision for their entire ecosystem. So we did what we do: took a comprehensive look at the natural setting, how unenlightened human hands had messed it up, and then created a set of strategic principles – to begin a broad-based, bi-national dialogue (which we had never done before).

Frank Gehry is working for free as architect of new Jazz Bakery

2012-02-01T00:35:00-05:00

Ruth Price, president and artistic director of the Jazz Bakery since it debuted in 1992, said Tuesday that she didn’t know Gehry, or even ask for his help, before he called about six months ago to volunteer his services. “He said, 'I’m doing this for two people: Sydney Pollack, and my wife, Berta.’ ” Film director Pollack, a close friend of the architect, died in 2008..."