Among those who are trained to see the built environment more fully than most people include planners, architects, and engineers. Their vision also comes down to specific responsibilities. These cannot be stated more clearly than the Code of Hammurabi over two-thousand years ago. “If a builder builds a house for a man and does not make its construction firm and the house collapses- and causes the death of the owner of the house – that builder shall be put to death.”
Being tied to both public and private ends currently stands with an increasingly intense awareness of larger circumstances that threaten the whole. The following membership organizations seek to gather planners, designers, and architects to examine the public side of their responsibility to the “whole.” For some, it could be seeing the Earth as a client, an entity that defines new architecture functions. To others, the work is, as one member describes it, “is in the trenches” to emphasize the importance of a design purpose that continuously improves the human condition.
Learn about the following. Make some choices. Offer support in the review of these efforts.
Established in 1977, the Association for Community Design (ACD) is a network of individuals, organizations, and institutions committed to increasing the capacity of planning and design professions to serve communities.
Architects/Designers/Planners for Social Responsibility (ADPSR) works for peace, environmental protection, ecological building, social justice, and the development of healthy communities. ADPSR (1981) is a 501(c)3 public-benefit organization to promote nuclear disarmament and correct the imbalances caused by military excesses overshadowing domestic needs.
The Association of Architecture Organizations (AAO)Membership List (here) is a registered not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation (2009) AAO’s vision is to create platforms and share ideas that support the growing diversity of architecture organizations and increase their impact. To further this mission, AAO provides a portal to connect with a worldwide network of leading people and organizations working in the field across a breadth of practices to learn about the art and science of public engagement and communicate the value of design.
SEED Network, Design Corps, Structures for Inclusion, and Public Interest Design Institute is a combination of membership organizations regarding “certification” and educational conferences attempting to create a creative home for architects, designers, and planners looking for more opportunities to participate in social justice, and public service.
Summary: See Directory
The Report has started a project of criticism regarding these efforts. (here).
If the membership of these organizations is to succeed, they must develop methods to fully institutionalize the design of the built environment through planning, architecture, engineering in ways that meet a far higher standard than offered today.