A&D Working for the Greater Good: Perkins+Will

Sara Pepitone -- Interior Design, 3/1/2012 5:15:00 PM

Perkins+Will have been engaged in pro bono, socially beneficial work since 2007, beginning in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The following year the firm joined Public Architecture.

"We consider our pro bono work to be part of our DNA," says Mark Jolicoeur, Principal of the Chicago-based firm. "Just as we believe design is a powerful tool for our paying clients, we also find that it is critical to reach and enable those who might not otherwise have access to our services in an effort to honor the broader goals of society.

Since 2008, Perkins+Will has devoted 53,305 hours of professional services to projects such as Friends of the Los Angeles River (FoLAR), a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect and restore the natural and historic heritage of the Los Angeles River; Georgia's Fugees Academy, the country's first school for refugee children; GiGi's Playhouse, Down syndrome awareness and educational centers; and GEMS: Girls Educational & Mentoring Services, which helps young women affected by commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking.

In 2010, the firm donated architectural design services to the $6-million Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute Juanita J. Craft Recreation Center in Dallas. The redesigned and renovated 1965 rec center was a joint effort with the City of Dallas Park and Recreation Department, and the Baylor Health Care Southern Sector Health Care Initiative. Perkins+Will provided pro bono programming, healthcare planning, interior design, signage and furniture selection. Along with pro bono engineering services, approximately $11,000 in finishes were donated by product manufacturers.

"[These types of projects] not only enriches the quality of our lives but helps us to build stronger, more meaningful ties with our communities - because simply put, it's the right thing to do for a better world," says Jolicoeur.

Other members of the A&D industry are pitching in to enhance the lives of those less fortunate across the globe, too. Click the links below to see additional firms who are active in giving back to the community.

Brett Zamore Design                                                  HOK

MASS Design Group                                                  Rockwell Group

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Nonprofits Changing the World Through Design

A&D Working for the Greater Good