Architect and national advocate for sustainable design, John Cary, takes his good-design-is-within-reach message to Louisiana Tech University for a lecture Dec. 11 at 6:30 p.m in Wyly Auditorium. Cary is the founding editor of publicinterestdesign.org. He said so often good design is inaccessible to underprivileged communities because there’s a misperception that it's expensive. He feels that service learning should be a key part of all architecture programs nationwide.
"Most architectural education is dictated by a set of national accreditation standards where service and community engagement is minimal at best," Cary said.
Cary created the 1 percent pro bono program where architecture and design firms commit to donating a portion of their services annually. He said 1,100 firms have signed on to it. Cary cited a strong demand for design in underserved communities. But he said it takes nonprofit organizations to partner with design firms so that pro bono projects can take hold.
"I would ultimately like to see the majority of a design curriculum be focused on making the world a better place. I don't think that's too much to ask," Cary said. "I think there's a huge amount of interest in this on the part of recent graduates. We can build demand within the nonprofit and social sectors."
Cary’s talk is titled “Everybody Deserves Great Design.” It's sponsored by Louisiana Tech's School of Architecture lecture series.