The 1% Solution By Tim Culvahouse, AIA “The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it.” —John Ruskin In conversation with architects across the country, the nonprofit organization Public Architecture is developing the “1% Solution,” a nation-wide initiative to have 1% of all architects’ working hours devoted to public service. Based on a 40-hour workweek, the 1% Solution represents a modest 20 hours per year per person. Were every architecture firm in the U.S. to sign on, however, the collective resources would be the equivalent of a 2,500-person firm working full time for the public good: five million hours of work in the public interest annually, a gift worth roughly half a billion dollars. Public Architecture defines public service as any contribution of the knowledge, skills, judgment, and creativity of the architect in service to the community. It includes the provision of architectural services to needy groups for actual projects leading to construction, but it also comprises any activity that engages public policy—service on volunteer boards and commissions, participation in community design charrettes, advising public policy-making bodies—or education (K-12 enrichment programs, for example). And it includes speculative work and other forms of research, provided that this work generates public discussion or otherwise actively engages the public realm. Pro bono work is any work done without the expectation of a fee or with a meaningful reduction in fees. Participating firms will be recognized on the Public Architecture Website and may display on their own Websites and in other published material a statement of participation in the 1% Solution. Annually, Public Architecture will distribute press releases acknowledging participating firms and will develop an annual awards program to recognize extraordinary accomplishment. Through its Website, Public Architecture will provide resources for participating firms, including suggestions for service; guidance on conceiving and managing a pro bono program; matchmaking between participating firms and organizations seeking assistance; on-line forums organized by locale or interest, to allow firms and individuals to pool resources and share knowledge and experience; and model contract language to assist firms in the management of risk. Public Architecture will also provide support for the public, including a listing service for organizations seeking pro bono assistance from architects, searchable by location, type of work, scale of work, and time frame; and guidance for organizations retaining an architect for pro bono services. In preparation for major funding applications, Public Architecture has begun canvassing architecture firms of diverse sizes, nationwide. The response has been enormously encouraging, with intended pledges of more than 4,000 hours and an additional 15,000 hours of possible pledges under consideration. Almost every firm contacted so far has agreed to provide critical feedback on this important work-in-progress. Public Architecture welcomes your feedback as well. Please send any thoughts, suggestions, criticisms, or questions to Tim Culvahouse, AIA Interim Executive Director Public Architecture 1126 Folsom Street, #3 San Francisco, California 94103 Tim Culvahouse, AIA, is editor of arcCA and interim executive director of Public Architecture, www.publicarchitecture.org. _ BACK TO DEPARTMENTS