Hi - I was wondering if anyone knew of any national or international altruistic non-profits related to architecture. The only two I can think of are Habitat for Humanity and Architecture for Humanity.
You can also look at some of the design orgs affiliated with architecture schools. One example would be the University of Arkansas Community Design Center. I think there are several others around the country.
Metropolis magazine has covered humanitarian architecture several times. Having worked at a non-profit as a designer for most of my architectural career, I have conflicting feelings about it.
mdler, i assume you're talking to me. yes, believe it or not, non-profit by choice and i have no regrets even as i am leaving it. it's sad that many other architects don't consider this a desirable option unlike, say, lawyers where going public interest (a.k.a. non-profit) is viewed as honorable and even prestigious.
in the heyday of the u.s. social architecture movement, community design centers sprung up left and right. i believe this was around the 1960s and 70s. architects prioritized social change over "cutting edge" aesthetics (not that those need to be mutually exclusive). we've moved far away from that time...although there is something a'brewing lately...
Wow guys! Thanks for for all the info. I only knew of 1-2 of these organizations but didn't feel qualified due to my lack of experiences. I'll definitely check out the other ones! :D
sorry mdler, dry humor doesn't translate well on the web.
btw, my salary at the non-profit was on par with for-profit firms. i saved enough money over the past 2.5 yrs to quit my job and live comfortably for next year. granted, my cost of living is low for someone living in LA. anyhow, point is people shouldn't overlook non-profits during their job search.
jetvancake - thanks for the archeworks link. looks dope.
Architectural Non-Profits
Hi - I was wondering if anyone knew of any national or international altruistic non-profits related to architecture. The only two I can think of are Habitat for Humanity and Architecture for Humanity.
Thanks in advance!
Public Architecture
You can also look at some of the design orgs affiliated with architecture schools. One example would be the University of Arkansas Community Design Center. I think there are several others around the country.
gresham, Thanks! I completely forgot about 1% and design corps.
Rural Studio (Auburn Univ)
http://www.cadc.auburn.edu/rural-studio/
architectes sans frontieres (AWB)
Abode Communities, formerly the Los Angeles Community Design Center, has an in-house architecture division:
www.abodecommunities.org
Gulf Coast Community Design Center
The design center at the University of Detroit-Mercy
I think it's sad we can only come up with a handful of architecture related non-profits. Anyone else feel the same way?
A few more:
Community Design Collaborative (Philadelphia)
Community Design Resource Center of Boston
Red Feather Development Group (Montana)
East Tennessee Community Design Center
buildingcommunityWORKSHOP (Dallas)
Oops, I forgot Project H Design:
http://projecthdesign.org/
Metropolis magazine has covered humanitarian architecture several times. Having worked at a non-profit as a designer for most of my architectural career, I have conflicting feelings about it.
http://www.metropolismag.com/pov/20100319/letter-from-baltimore-the-humanitarian-design-debate
non-profit by choice???
mdler, i assume you're talking to me. yes, believe it or not, non-profit by choice and i have no regrets even as i am leaving it. it's sad that many other architects don't consider this a desirable option unlike, say, lawyers where going public interest (a.k.a. non-profit) is viewed as honorable and even prestigious.
in the heyday of the u.s. social architecture movement, community design centers sprung up left and right. i believe this was around the 1960s and 70s. architects prioritized social change over "cutting edge" aesthetics (not that those need to be mutually exclusive). we've moved far away from that time...although there is something a'brewing lately...
mc_cranberry
I was trying to make a joke about architects not making any $$$ in general...dry sense of humor
Wow guys! Thanks for for all the info. I only knew of 1-2 of these organizations but didn't feel qualified due to my lack of experiences. I'll definitely check out the other ones! :D
Fellow archenecter(?) recently pointed me to ArcheWorks.
sorry mdler, dry humor doesn't translate well on the web.
btw, my salary at the non-profit was on par with for-profit firms. i saved enough money over the past 2.5 yrs to quit my job and live comfortably for next year. granted, my cost of living is low for someone living in LA. anyhow, point is people shouldn't overlook non-profits during their job search.
jetvancake - thanks for the archeworks link. looks dope.
Absurdly, the AIA is a non-profit, even though it exists to serve the profitable interests of its profit-making members....
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