Current Work: Collaborative Change: Four Years of Design Advocates

Design Advocates (D/A) is a cooperative network of independent architecture and design practices who collaborate on projects with a mission to serve the greater good. Initiated in April 2020 as a nonprofit platform for collecting data and empowering design businesses in the era of COVID-19, Design Advocates expanded into a collective effort to match designers with small businesses and community organizations by providing pro-bono design services while engaging in advocacy for the broader independent design industry.

Since 2020, Design Advocates has completed over 100 projects, initiatives, and collaborations with local businesses, nonprofits, social service organizations, and public agencies and 250 firms and volunteers have participated in D/A projects. Design Advocates continues to help institutions, municipalities, and nonprofits create meaningful engagement processes and develop design projects that serve communities and the public.

This event, organized by Pratt School of Architecture and presented by The Architectural League, convenes leaders of Design Advocates to discuss the inception of D/A during the early months of the pandemic and the group’s approach to collaborative practice, advocacy, and project development. In addition to sharing completed projects, the presentation will also include a look at how D/A is evolving and the new strategies the organization is developing to address a range of questions in contemporary practice.