Architects & Pro Bono
This is the first in a series of posts under the banner of "Pro Bono Design." Future posts will range from specific pro bono design project profiles to developments in the growing pro bono design movement. Two brief disclosures are probably in order: first that I am the executive director of a nonprofit (Public Architecture) on whose board Aaron Hurst serves; second that the subject of this post is a membership organization that I have belonged to for over eight years and which in 2008 became a sponsor of Public Architecture's pro bono service program, "The 1%."
This past Friday, August
1, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) issued a draft of its
forthcoming "Pro Bono Guidelines." This is
the first substantive and official statement on the subject in the AIA's
150-year history. To date, the
AIA's position on pro bono has been a very general 2-sentence mention in the
organization's Code of Ethics &
Professional Conduct.
Architects and the AIA
as our primary professional association are apt to compare ourselves to other
established professions such as law and medicine. The reality, however, is that both the American Bar
Association (ABA) and American Medical Association (AMA) have long had explicit
expectations and provided resources for their members to undertake pro bono
service, while it has been simply an aspirational statement in architecture. In this respect, the ABA in particular
provides a compelling model for the AIA to now aspire to.
Although still in draft
form and awaiting adoption by the AIA Board of Directors this fall, the
guidelines are a major step forward for the AIA and the architecture profession
as a whole. It also a sign that
this culture of pro bono that we have been working to build since the launch of
Public Architecture's pro bono service program, The 1%, is taking hold.
Between now and August 20, the AIA is
soliciting comments on its Pro Bono Guidelines, a 15-page document,
which is broken up into nine major sections. The stated intent of the guidelines is to provide
"encouragement, guidance, and recommendations for the management of the
provision of pro bono services by members of the Institute, firms, and AIA
components who are presently, or contemplating becoming, engaged in providing
such services." No small task.
AIA members have been invited to comment
on the draft in a members-only section of the AIA website. My hope through
this and future posts addressing each major section of the draft document is to
draw on the expertise and interests of this pro bono discussion forum to help
refine this important landmark document.
Your comments will directly inform Public Architecture's response and
recommendations to the AIA, and help shape the pro bono agenda for an entire
profession.
Click here to download a PDF of the 15-page report.
Congratulations - this is a pretty big step to have AIA formally support and promote pro bono services. This really could help pave the way for expanding the pro bono ethic beyond the legal community to many other business professions.
While I applaud these efforts, I am confused by some of the examples and recommendations made. The examples don't really emphasize the unique skills and expertise architects have to provide the nonprofit sector that can't be provided by other professions. Isn't this the whole reason an architecture association would promote pro bono services by architects?
What do you think? What are other reasons AIA should be promoting pro bono services?