Design Advocates (D/A) is a cooperative network of independent architecture and design practices who collaborate on projects with a mission to serve the greater good. Initiated in April 2020 as a nonprofit platform for collecting data and empowering design businesses in the era of COVID-19, Design Advocates expanded into a collective effort to match designers with small businesses and community organizations by providing pro-bono design services while engaging in advocacy for the broader independent design industry. Since 2020, Design Advocates has completed over 100 projects, initiatives, and collaborations with local businesses, nonprofits, social service organizations, and public agencies and 250 firms and volunteers have participated in D/A projects. Design Advocates continues to help institutions, municipalities, and nonprofits create meaningful engagement processes and develop design projects that serve communities and the public.

This event, organized by Pratt School of Architecture and presented by The Architectural League, convenes leaders of Design Advocates to discuss the inception of D/A during the early months of the pandemic and the group’s approach to collaborative practice, advocacy, and project development. In addition to sharing completed projects, the presentation will also include a look at how D/A is evolving and the new strategies the organization is developing to address a range of questions in contemporary practice.

Speakers

Alexandra Barker is the principal of Barker Architecture Office and a founder of Pratt Institute’s Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design department (Pratt GAUD), where she is currently the interim chair and associate professor. Barker was elevated to the College of Fellows of the AIA in 2020. She is a member of the Design Advocates’ Leadership Team.

Michael K. Chen is an architect and principal of architecture and design firm MKCA, based in New York City. From 2004-2019, Chen taught undergraduate design studios and seminars at Pratt Institute. He is a co-founder and board president of Design Advocates.

Abigail Coover is founder and director of design firm Overlay Office. Coover currently teaches studios at Pratt Institute, and previously taught architectural design at the University of Pennsylvania and the Yale School of Architecture. She is a co-founder and board secretary of Design Advocates.

Fauzia Khanani is the founder of Studio For, an architecture and interiors firm based in New York City. She is a founding member and a former co-chair of the AIANY Social Science and Architecture Committee and a core organizer for the Design As Protest Collective. Khanani currently teaches an MArch seminar at Pratt GAUD focusing on values-based practice. She is a co-founder and board vice president of Design Advocates.

Jane Lea is the principal of Lea Architecture and is the design partner for The All Along Project. Lea has taught at Cooper Union, Parsons, and Pratt and is a licensed architect in New York and Pennsylvania. She is a co-founder and board treasurer of Design Advocates.

Nicholas McDermott is a partner and co-founder of FE, office of architecture and urbanism, based in Brooklyn. McDermott is on the faculty at the Yale School of Architecture where he teaches graduate-level design studios. He is a registered architect in New York State, a LEED Accredited Professional, and serves on the board of directors at Design Advocates.

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