Celebrate the Chicago launch of the book The Power of Pro Bono, with a panel discussion and reception at the Graham Foundation on Tuesday, March 1^st from 6-9PM, sponsored by Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction.

The panel will give in-depth perspectives of projects featured in the book, including the Kam Liu Building of the Chinese American Service League in Chicago and the Roosevelt Park Masterplan from Detroit. Representatives from the firm and nonprofit client will be on the panel, moderated by Public Architecture’s Founder and President, John Peterson. The panel will discuss community involvement, the role of pro bono service in professional practice and how design can impact change locally.

Panelists include:
Jeanne Gang// Principal, Studio Gang
Bernarda Wong// President, Chinese American Service League
Noah Resnick// Principal, uRbanDetail
Brian Hurttienne// Architect & Community Activist, Corktown, Detroit
John Peterson// Founder & President, Public Architecture

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Power of Pro Bono presents 40 pro bono design projects across the country. The clients include grassroots community organizations like the Homeless Prenatal Program of San Francisco, as well as national and international nonprofits, among them Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, KIPP Schools and Planned Parenthood. These public-interest projects were designed by a range of award-winning practices, from SHoP Architects in New York and Studio Gang in Chicago, to young studios including Stephen Dalton Architects in Southern California and Hathorne Architects in Detroit, to some of the largest firms in the country, such as Gensler, HOK and Perkins + Will. Scores of private donors, local community foundations and companies, and material and service donations made these projects possible. So have some of the most progressive funders in the country, ranging from Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans to the Robin Hood Foundation in New York. Taken as a whole, the selected works represent six general categories: Arts, Civic, Community, Education, Health and Housing. This book is inspired and informed by the advocacy and design work of Public Architecture, a national nonprofit founded in 2002 by San Francisco-based architect John Peterson. The 1% program of Public Architecture challenges architecture and design firms nationwide to pledge a minimum of one percent of their time to pro bono service, leveraging in excess of $25 million in donated services annually.

ABOUT PUBLIC ARCHITECTURE

Established in 2002, Public Architecture identifies and solves practical problems of human interaction in the built environment and acts as a catalyst for public discourse through education, advocacy, and the design of public spaces and amenities.