Design for the Masses

Public Architecture, a San Francisco–based nonprofit, created the 1% program, an initiative where architects pledge a minimum of 1 percent of their billable hours annually to pro bono service.

Based on a 40-hour workweek, 1% represents a modest 20 hours per year per person. Were all 240,000 architecture professionals in the U.S. to sign on, the collective resources would be the equivalent of a 2,500-person firm (the largest in the world) working full-time for the public good, totaling an estimated 5,000,000 hours annually.

Cambridge Seven Associates in Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the 300th architecture firm in three years to pledge their commitment to providing pro bono design services. "This represents a growth of 100 percent since the relaunch of The 1% Web site last October," says Public Architecture founder John Peterson. "The rapid growth is fueled in part by a new matching system through which architecture firms and nonprofits can seek out partnerships online."

"As architects whose projects are inherently public, we know how important design is for enabling people to interact and work with each other," says Peter Kuttner, president of Cambridge Seven Associates. "The 1% program of Public Architecture represents the first profession-wide pro bono movement in architecture."

The 1% program was launched by Public Architecture on March 31, 2005, with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.  Along with renewed support from the NEA, The 1% is supported by several groups, including The American Institute of Architects, Boston Society of Architects, corporate and private foundations, as well as leading firms such as Elness Swenson Graham Architects, HOK, HKS, McCall Design Group, and Perkins + Will.

In addition to The 1% program, Public Architecture sponsors a series of "design campaigns," including ScrapHouse and the Day Labor Station. Through prototypical design projects linked with comprehensive advocacy initiatives, design campaigns develop new design solutions to provocative social issues.