Ideas for the future
I want to start and run an organization that deals with sustainability, community, design, and education on a small scale in under privileged areas. Thinking of the specifics, I realize I have all these big ideas but I feel so lost because I have no idea how to start. So:
Where do you start?
How much of a business background do you need?
What are the benefits of a non profit?
Can it start very small- like a house, some design projects, and a couple of high school interns?
How do you get the local community involved, what about the local colleges?
How do you start looking at the funding? What are main things I should think about?
Ok, so now I feel overwhelmed. I think about all this but feel so helpless. This trip is so that I can get an idea of how other people deal with these things, I am seeing some of that, but I feel frustrated and want to go back home and start doing something about it.
5 comments:
yeah i know how that feels. i havent quite started being a profeshinal architect yet but i wan to open my own firm. some day. and it shall be a finland-turkey-usa-japan based firm! want to help out?
~os
I saw a book, God Deeds, Good Design by Bell - don't have the first name but it might be of interest to you. It's about architects building for low income areas and also incorporating sustainability. There's also quite a lot going on out in the southwest - one group just builds homes for Native Americans - Red Feather is the website. PBS also had a program about this - building in low income areas not too long ago. Once you sart looking there is actually quite a lot out there - it's just a matter of finding it. Bonnie
Os, it’s a good idea to open your own firm; however I want to be located in the USA. We have enough problems that I think I should stay and try to do some good. But maybe we can help each other out.
Bonnie, Thanks for the input. I have heard of a fair amount of projects that are trying to build in low income areas, but I'm looking at redesigning what already exist. I know it will be more expensive and possible not worth the effort, but I think we should fix what we have rather than starting from crash. I'm looking up the Red Feather and I'll try to take a look at the book. Thanks
here is the link to Red Feather is any one wants to look at it. http://www.redfeather.org/
That's a tall order - with the new materials today is it fianancialy feasible to redesign?? Here are some more resources from the magazine "Metropolis" - "Sustainable Living: 25 International Examples by Doninique Gauzin-Muller - for Matt - Paul Kjaerholm: Furniture Architect by Michael Sheridan. "Ten shades of Green: Architecture and the Natural World by Peter Buchaman. Speaking of materials there is an articlae on Materials Conservation: the latest environmentally friendly surfaces in the Oct. issue.
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