Benefits and Impact of the Fellowship
Benefits
The fellowship offers young designers:
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Avenues to create social change and connect with people and communities
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Valuable creative and practical professional experience
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A host organization that truly understands its mission, residents and the community's culture and needs
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A full and complete experience as fellows participate in all phases of a project:
- Assessing the community's needs
- Design
- Financing
- Construction and completion
- Understanding how the housing continues to have an impact on residents over time
Impact
Since 2000, 35 Fellows have contributed to designing and building over 100 exemplary projects:
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More than 7,000 affordable homes, of which the majority have integrated Green Building standards, such as:
- Enterprise Green Communities Criteria
- LEED®, Energy Star®
- Earthcraft
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Local, city and statewide programs in Seattle, WA; Austin, TX; and California
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Forty-three community facilities, including:
- Neighborhood centers
- Child care centers
- Community gardens
- Health clinics
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Mixed-use space for nonprofits and small businesses
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Nine community master plans that have leveraged tens of millions of dollars in public and private financing.
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Five books and manuals communicating design solutions to a broad audience.
- Work ranging from a strawbale housing development in Montana to a center for troubled teens that won the Virginia Governor’s Award for Best Housing Project.
The fellowship is fulfilling its promise to produce leaders in public interest architecture and community development. Some of our alumni who hold leadership positions include:
- Jess Zimbabwe (2003-2006) has been named executive director of The Daniel Rose Center for Public Leadership in Land Use, a program of the Urban Land Institute.
- Peter Aeschbacher (2000-2003) is a professor holding a joint appointment in the Departments of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Pennsylvania State University.
- David Flores (2001-2004) brings design and policy expertise to his leading role in San Diego’s affordable housing movement.