News + Opportunities

via PublicInterestDesign.org

"As will be more formally announced this fall, the University of Minnesota College of Design will host its first annual Public Interest Design Week, to take place March 19-24, 2013. Organized by our own John Cary, the week will include a series of events, culminating in the annual Structures for Inclusion conference, established by Design Corps in 2000. True to its name, SFI has historically focused primarily on built “structures”; this year, as its host, Minnesota is taking a broader view of design–to include not just places, but also products and processes that have been designed or redesigned for the public good.

Suggestions for potential speakers (beyond those selected through the 2013 SEED Awards program, to be announced shortly) are being sought as we build out the agenda for the week and SFI in particular. We are thus seeking recommendations for potential keynote speakers (individuals or pairs of people), panelists, and workshop presenters (around specific skills or topics, like financing, for example). We encourage nominators to think creatively about diverse and truly dynamic speakers, great projects and ideas worth sharing, as well as the value of non-designer/client/community/user perspectives.

Click here to submit your Public Interest Design Week speaker nominations by email. Review of nominations will start August 8, and speakers will ultimately be determined based on a range of factors. Caption: T-shirt above designed by The Noun Project for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, inspired by Claes Oldenburg’s iconic “Spoonbridge & Cherry” sculpture."

Enterprise is now accepting applications to become an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow beginning in 2013. Applications are due August 8, 2012. See the fellowship opportunities and how to apply.

Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship

Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellows become part of a unique three-year experience offering unparalleled learning and networking opportunities. As integral members of their host organizations’ staffs, fellows gain practical experience in site acquisition, site planning, architectural design, developing financial pro-formas, applying for financing and obtaining public approvals. Often fellows engage in neighborhood planning, typically helping their hosts improve standards and practices for design excellence, sustainability and resident engagement.
 
Fellows work full time within their host organizations, helping to build capacity and bringing fresh ideas. In exchange, the hosts provide mentorship and guidance, supporting the development of the fellows’ careers with meaningful hands-on experience, in addition to insurance and certain other benefits. For its part, Enterprise provides an annual stipend ($47,500 for fellowships beginning in 2013), coaching and training, along with industry networking and learning opportunities.
 
Fellows also gain from a national support system of colleagues who share their passion for public interest architecture and community development. Bi-monthly conference calls and online meetings combined with bi-annual face-to-face gatherings create the opportunity for fellows to share experiences, learn from peers and develop lifetime relationships.

Fellowship Opportunities for 2013

Enterprise Community Partners is offering four fellowship opportunities for the 2013-2015 class. Prospective applicants must choose and apply to only one fellowship opportunity. Please carefully review the fellowship workplans before proceeding with the application: 

Community Planning and Rural Sustainability
Location: Greenwood, Miss.
Organizations: Greenwood-Leflore Economic Development Foundation and Carl Small Town Center

A fellow with these organizations will work with multiple local stakeholders to implement a comprehensive community plan for the Baptist Town neighborhood of Greenwood, Miss. In addition, with the Carl Small Town Center, the fellow will explore national models of rural sustainability. Download the workplan.

Culturally Sensitive Design for Native American Tribes
Location: Santo Domingo, N.M.
Organizations: Santo Domingo Housing Authority and the Sustainable Native Communities Collaborative

This fellowship will provide dual opportunities to implement community planning and engagement at a local level and to nationally influence culturally sensitive tribal design.
Download the workplan.

 

Urban Community Development and Transit-Oriented Development
Location: Los Angeles
Organizations: Little Tokyo Service Center and the Neighborhood Based CDC Coalition

Working with these two groups, a fellow will have the opportunity to fully explore all facets of affordable housing development, design and financing, as well as shape the future of transit-oriented development in Los Angeles. Download the workplan.
 

Building Models of Community Development and
Affordable Housing
Location: Asheville, N.C.
Organization: Mountain Housing Opportunities

With MHO, a fellow will be deeply entrenched in the Asheville and Buncomb County community development sphere. The fellow will work on a myriad of local projects, from multifamily housing to helping shape a potential national model of sustainable single-family housing development through the New Mountain House program. Download the workplan.
 

Apply to be an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow

At a minimum, applicants must posses a professional degree in architecture from an accredited university (B.Arch, M.Arch, or D.Arch). Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States for the duration of the three-year fellowship (Enterprise Community Partners and Host Organizations cannot assist fellows in obtaining proper visas and/or work permits).
 
The application consists of essay questions, a resume, letters of recommendation, transcripts and a portfolio. 
 
You may save and edit your work until the deadline of August 8, 2012. We encourage applicants to read all instructions before beginning.

Required Attachments 

Portfolio of Work: Applicants are expected to provide a portfolio of work with up to 10 examples of their highest quality work for review. The portfolio must be in a pdf format. The portfolio must contain no more than ten 8.5 x 11 inch 'slides' and may be no larger than 5 MB. Portfolio Samples relevant to community development and community design are encouraged.
 
Resume: The resume should describe the applicant's employment history, academic history, community involvement and leadership, and honors and awards. It should include all full-time positions held, summer jobs held in college, relevant part-time work, all community leadership positions and community work. It is important to include dates, firms/employers, locations, titles and responsibilities. The resume may be tailored to best reflect individual skills, interests, honors and activities.
 
Sealed Unofficial Transcripts: Applicants must submit unofficial transcripts from all colleges and universities attended via the online application system. If selected for an interview, sealed official transcripts will be required.
 
Recommendations: Letters of recommendation should be solicited from two people who can objectively comment on performance in any or all three areas: academic, professional and community settings. Letters from personal or family friends or from co-workers are considered inappropriate and are detrimental to the application.  It is strongly recommended that those providing Recommendations do not also provide Design Studio Critiques.
 
Design Studio Critiques: In addition to two recommendation letters, applicants must submit two critiques by past Design Studio Critics, Desk Critics, Architectural Employers or others in a position to be able to objectively comment on both creative and technical design ability. Each critique should be one page in length and should discuss applicant's architectural ability in a frank and honest manner. It is strongly recommended that those providing Recommendations do not also provide Design Studio Critiques.
 
Responses to Essay Questions: Applicants must address the following four essay questions. Special attention should be given to the specific personal qualities, professional accomplishments and community work that distinguish you from other well-qualified applicants.
 
Please combine your essay responses into a single file and include your name at the top of the document.
 
Essays are limited to .PDF, .DOC, .DOCX., and .RTF formats. File sizes must not exceed 5 MB.
 
Essay 1: Why do you want to be an Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellow?
Essay 2: Describe a project or experience that contributed to your motivation to be a community-based architect working in green affordable housing.
Essay 3: How do you anticipate that the fellowship experience will impact your work in the future?
Essay 4: After reviewing the draft fellowship plan, please give a response in two pages or less. Portions of the fellowship plan will be negotiable after the fellowship is awarded. Consider the following when responding:

A. What is your overall impression of the fellowship plan?
B. What special approaches, if any, would you use in implementing the plan?
C. Do you bring any special background or expertise that will assist you in executing this plan with this organization?

Application Timeline

Applications due: August 8, 2012
Finalists Notified: by September 14, 2012
On-Site Interviews: September and October 2012
Fellows Notified: by October 31, 2012
Start Fellowship: January 2, 2013

Design Initiatives Program Officer

Job Summary

The Program Officer provides project management expertise to support the success of Enterprise’s National Design Initiatives. This department, which holds an evolving, expanding role within Enterprise, currently houses the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship, Affordable Housing Design Leadership Institute, Pre-Development Design Grant and the nascent Community Design Resource Center. The department is also involved in an ongoing planning effort that will determine its larger role within community design and development nationwide.

The Program Officer provides project management expertise to support the success of Enterprise’s National Design Initiatives programs, with a focus on the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship program. This position requires solid communication, organizational, analytical, computer and administrative skills and the ability to perform multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment with limited supervision. Reporting to the vice president of design initiatives, the position is located in our Wellesley, MA location.

Job Responsibilities

 - Support all facets of the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship program, including:
- Coordinate host organization and fellowship application processes.
- Coordinate outreach on Fellowship opportunities, including candidate recruitment, applications, interview and award processes and related materials.
- Manage Rose Fellowship reporting processes.
- Monitor Intern Development Program (IDP)progress of current Rose fellows.
- Coordinate fellowship trainings, regular conference calls, and retreats.
- Contribute intellectual leadership to expanding Enterprise’s Community Design Excellence Initiative.
-Lead creation of tools and resources for Community Design Resource Center. Work with leading architects, developers, and Rose Fellows to develop these platforms.
-Lead fundraising and grant writing efforts for the Design Initiatives department. Compose and edit progress and activity reports as required by funders.
- In collaboration with Online Services team, update related websites with new materials, opportunities and information. Keep blog and social media updated and current.
- Provide a high degree of customer service and quick, courteous response to requests for information and assistance from internal and external customers.

Qualifications

-Undergraduate degree and four (4) years of relevant experience; graduate degree may be substituted for up to two years of experience. MArch, MLA, MPP, MUP, MCP desirable.
- Interest, knowledge and/or experience in community architecture, green building and community planning.
- Architectural design skills are not required, but an interest and ability in growing the leadership capacity in community development and design a necessity.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills; excellent writing, editing and proofing skills.
- Strong project management skills and experience.
- Demonstrated ability to anticipate needs and solve problems, prioritize conflicting demands, plan work effectively, follow-up and meet deadlines with minimal supervision.
- Excellent desktop publishing and graphic design skills. Proficiency with the Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suites a must.
- Actively participates in team-oriented activities, builds relationships.
- Availability to work occasional overtime and for occasional travel.

For more information and to apply: http://tinyurl.com/ProgramOfficer-Fellowships

Hester Street Collaborative seeks a Development and Operations Manager to join their small, energetic team in New York. 

Report via Kathryn Hobgood Ray / Phone: 504-865-5229 / khobgood@tulane.edu




Maurice Cox, a nationally respected community designer and leader of the public interest design movement, has been named director of the Tulane City Center as well as the new associate dean for community engagement at the Tulane University School of Architecture in New Orleans. In his new roles, Cox will oversee a wide range of initiatives with Tulane architecture faculty and students throughout the New Orleans community.  
 
"I’m arriving at Tulane during a fascinating time in the history of the school of architecture and this city," said Cox. "New Orleans is in the process of realizing its aspiration to lead the nation in democratic practices of design."

Cox, who studied architecture at Cooper Union in New York under the guidance of John Hejduk, comes to Tulane from the faculty of University of Virginia. A co-founder of the national SEED (Social, Economic, Environmental, Design) Network, Cox served as design director of the National Endowment for the Arts in Washington, DC from 2007-2010.  In that capacity, he led the Mayor’s Institute on City Design, the Governor’s Institute on Community Design and oversaw the award of more than $2 million a year in NEA design grants across the United States.

Cox has received national acclaim for his ability to incorporate active citizen participation into the design process while achieving the highest quality of design excellence, leading Fast Company business magazine to name him one of America’s "20 Masters of Design" for his practice of "democratic design."

Cox’s appreciation of the civic process led him to serve as city councilmember and then mayor of the City of Charlottesville from 1996-2004. During Cox’s mayoral term (2002-2004) the city was ranked as the "#1 Best Place to Live in the USA & Canada" by Frommer's Cities Ranked and Rated. The city was also the smallest in America to maintain a AAA-bond rating for excellence in fiscal management with a municipal city budget of $100 million.  Under his leadership, Charlottesville completed several large projects, including the passage of an award-winning zoning ordinance in support of mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented development; new infill residential neighborhoods and mixed-income, higher-density housing; and the design of a two-mile, federally funded parkway entrance into the city.
   

At Tulane, Cox will be working with the highly successful programs of the Tulane City Center, URBANbuild, the Tulane Regional Urban Design Center, the preservation program and the school’s new Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development program, all which are community outreach design initiatives of the university.    

Many congratulations go out to Trinity Simons who has been named director of the Mayors’ Institute on City Design (MICD), a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) leadership initiative in partnership with The United States Conference of Mayors and the American Architectural Foundation. Trinity joined the Association for Community Design's Board of Directors in 2011 and is currently serving as Treasurer.

“The level of applicants for the director’s position was outstanding, and the selection was difficult,” said Ronald E. Bogle, president and chief executive officer of AAF. “However, Trinity was a standout in the process, and we know she will be an excellent director for the program.”

"MICD's leadership in helping mayors find creative, innovative solutions to their most pressing challenges is unparalleled,” said Simons. “I'm delighted to return to this program and work with our nation's mayors and top designers to explore ways design can impact the health of our cities and regions."

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The University of Minnesota's College of Design has officially launched a search to find a director to lead the Colleges' socially responsible or public-interest design initiatives. Public-interest design lies at the intersection of design and public service, and it represents a new approach for the delivery of design services to people in order for everyone to live their best lives regardless of their socio-economic background.

"We see this as part of the emergence of a public-health version of the design fields," says Tom Fisher, Dean of the College of Design and pioneer in the public-interest design field. "Design has long had a medical model of practice, serving the needs of individuals, organizations, and communities that can pay designers' fees. But just as public-health grew out of the medical schools to meet the health needs of the global population, public-interest design has begun to arise out of the traditional design disciplines to create the products, environments, services and systems needed by all 7 billion of us and the planet on which we live."

The College of Design has been a national leader in the area of public-interest design. Its students and faculty have worked in places such as the post-Katrina Gulf Coast, in countries such as India and Malawi, and most recently with a studio in Port-au-Prince, Haiti At the same time, the college has convened conversations about this topic, including a recent symposium in partnership with PublicInterestDesign.org and Tandus Flooring, and has funded a report on the state of public-interest design - which includes infographics on the field and chronology of its history.

The University of Minnesota also has several well-established public-interest programs underway. These include the social entrepreneurial Acara program, the innovative Masters of Development Practice, and several graduate programs partnering with the Peace Corps.

The University of Minnesota Board of Regents officially approved this director-level position as part of its passage of the University's FY13 budget last Friday. More information on the position and how to apply can be found here: design.umn.edu/about/employment.

SEEDocs: Grow Dat Youth Farm from Design Corps on Vimeo.

Today is the SEED Network's official release of the second “SEEDoc,” featuring the Grow Dat Youth Farm in New Orleans aimed at tackling poverty reduction, youth empowerment, employment, obesity, good health and green gardening.

Grow Dat Youth Farm

Team: Tulane University City Center, Grow Dat Youth Farm, New Orleans City Park

Location: New Orleans, Louisiana

Issues Addressed: Education, , Design Education, Crime, Poverty, Youth Empowerment and Employment,  Obesity, Green Gardening, Health, Food Deserts

Project Description:  At Grow Dat Farm in New Orleans, Louisiana, people from different backgrounds and disciplines come together in research and practice to support public health, local economies and a sustainable food system.  The farm mission is to nurture a diverse group of young leaders and provide job training through the meaningful work of growing food, and involves at-risk high school student crew members who learn to plant, harvest and cook as well as participate in leadership training classes.

Please share with your friends and look for the third installment of the series in July! For more information visit: www.seedocs.org

Jul 20              Escuela Ecologica

Aug 17           Maria Auxiliadora School

Sep 20            Nyanza Maternity Hospital

Oct 19            Bancroft School Revitalization  

Today is the SEED Network's official release of the first “SEEDoc,” featuring the preservation of a Native American pueblo, Owe’neh Bupingeh. If you saw the sneak peek at Structures for Inclusion 12, you'll definitely want to see the finished product. Please share with your friends and look for the second installment of the series in June! www.seedocs.org

Congratulations Bryan Bell, Jamie Blosser, and everyone else at the SEED Network, Owe'neh Bupungeh, and the UpTake that put these together!