One of the topics of discussion that has been common place
in the past 8 months of sessions has been the benefits and down falls of giving
our work away. In many instances, by “giving
away” our services to entities that have the means to pay for our expertise,
this could have the opposite effect of what we would hope pro-bono work to have
and further degrade the value of having an architect involved in the process of
building the world around us. I would
argue that in the right circumstances, this work can be fulfilling, engrain our
leaders firmly in the community, and truly raise the benefit of having an
architect lead the charge of any project in the eyes of the general public.
We all know that there are multiple reasons that we spend
countless hours toiling away at our offices.
To name just a few, most of us fell in love with the prospect of the
well-designed built environment and the effects that it can have on the people
that come in contact with it. It tends to be in our nature to want to create
and to refine down to the way that components are joined together to make it
“just right”. Of course, we also have
the basic need to provide for our families.
At our day to day jobs, not every project that comes across
our desk, for various reasons, has the potential to energize us on almost a
spiritual level. Be it budget, the
prospect of a strictly utilitarian program, or something as simple as replacing
a roof on a strip mall, some jobs just don’t get your heart racing or keep you
thinking about solutions long into the night (unless a constraining schedule is
the case).
When projects are chosen carefully, to appeal to the
altruistic nature that many of us have and truly do some good for those around
us, pro-bono work can be that catalyst for energizing the spirit, showcasing
what we are capable of, and leading towards becoming a trusted advisor within
our communities.
When projects are done, not strictly to affect the bottom
line, but because it is helping a sector of the community that otherwise would
not have the means to come in contact with good design or helping a cause that
is close to our hearts, they can have lasting effects:
- When people are made to feel a part of something, they by nature become more invested and interested in the outcome and become your biggest cheerleader and brightest students.
- Altruistic
work usually either has a challenging budget, challenging problem, or
both. This provides a vehicle with
which to showcase our problem solving abilities to work within tight
constraints and make a project sing.
