Sometimes good intentions need proper structure—a process, as architects like to say. This was clearly the case for Eskew+Dumez+Ripple (EDR), the award-winning New Orleans firm that has played a key role in the post-Katrina revival of the Crescent City. Until recently, EDR’s approach to pro bono work was loose and informal, but as the firm grew in recent years, that became unwieldy and ultimately unsatisfying. “We’d done extensive pro bono work in the past, but without focus,” says Jose Alvarez, a principal at EDR. As a result, those efforts seemed to dissipate quickly. “We were looking to create stronger community bonds and more meaningful results,” he adds.
Out of that desire to connect was born the firm’s MLK Day of Service program. Held for the first time in January 2015 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the idea—originally hatched by Alvarez—combines the firm’s annual research fellowship with a firm-wide day of service. (In 2015 its theme was community engagement.) As a first step, EDR’s research fellow and event organizer Nicole Joslin sent out RFP’s to community groups citywide in need of design services. Ten proposals were reviewed by an internal committee of the firm, which narrowed the list to eight. “We gave a presentation to the full staff of the eight, and then asked them to vote on their first and second choices,” says Sabeen Hasan, a project architect and member of the selection committee. The top four finishers were chosen to participate in the program.
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