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CONTACT I was studying for my nal architecture license exam–the ‘special’ one for those of us
who want to be licensed in California–and began to learn about the business structures
SUBSCRIBE available to set up an architecture rm. Corporation, S-Corporation, LLC, and sole
proprietorship were the options available to be a legal architectural service provider in
California. Nothing too striking about those, and as far as I could tell, they’d been done
over and over again.
ABOUT ME
At the same time I was working with a friend on establishing a design practice focused
Welcome! I'm Katie, a business
strategist for impact-driven on serving community organizations and non-pro ts, and these legal structures
designers. This blog explores weren’t quite aligning with our mission.
why, what, and how to practice
unconventional, impactful and
intentional design. Peruse the
latest posts or dig into the Luckily, we were working out of the HUB San Francisco, a collaborative workspace for
archives for interviews,
practical notes, tips and tricks. social entrepreneurs, and we were surrounded by innovative, socially-focused
organizations. This is when my new found fascination began. The more time I spent at
the HUB, the more I overheard people using new terms–b corp, bene t corp, social
TOPICS entrepreneur, social enterprise, impact investing–and the more curious I became about
Activity (16) how these could be applied to the standard architectural framework and duties.
All of the above terms (B Corp, bene t corp, social entrepreneur, social enterprise,
impact investing) come down to having social and environmental goals equal with
nancial goals. I decided to go with social enterprise, mainly because of the simple,
straight forward de nition. According to Wikipedia, a social enterprise is:
Architects take the oath of responsibility for the health, safety, and welfare of humans
through the structures we design and build, and through the practices we establish.
And the ‘maximizing pro t’ part? Well, we don’t do this anyway. The running joke in the
architecture eld is how underpaid we are as professionals and how we put our work
above our budgets, either by agreeing to a lower fee than what’s feasible or spending
more time than allocated just to make sure a project is completed and successful. So
inherently it appears that the architecture profession has very similar principles
as social enterprises–focusing more on the mission than the money. (And I can
only presume that similar design professions feel the same way.)
Not all architecture rms may want to go this route, (although eventually I think it will
have to be engrained just like accessible design standards and now environmental
standards like LEED and BREEAM,) so this is where social impact and public interest
design rms can get a head start and lead the industry.
1. It directly addresses an intractable social need and serves the common good,
either through its products and services or through the number of
disadvantaged people it employs.
Returning to the health, safety, and welfare oath, we are inherently serving the
common good through the services we provide in designing and building. But now we
can take this one step further and identify the social impact and environmental
stewardship goals in our mission that will live on in the organization. Take Sharon Davis
Design’s mission as an example:
3. The common good is its primary purpose, literally “baked into” the
organization’s DNA, and trumping all others.
This one might be a little harder for typical rms since sometimes we take work that we
know isn’t ideal. But by baking in the social and environmental goals into the
organization’s mission and guiding principles, we’ll be able to establish more
meaningful relationships with value-aligned clients. (I know, we all need to get paid at
some point. But read further.)
There are also many organizations who have long been involved in this movement,
from member groups like Social Enterprise UK, to the annual Social Capital
Markets event, to certi cation organizations like Bene t Corporation and B Lab, to
social impact investment rms like Big Society Capital and Bridges Ventures, along with
university programs and the social enterprises and entrepreneurs who are doing the
work daily.
All of these people are seeking to cultivate communities that take on social and
environmental issues–issues that designers can tackle through research, design, and
implementation. It’s a win-win for organizations needing design thinking and for
designers to use their skills for positive change. And with increasing interest will come
more investment, which means doing good work won’t have to be for free.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Social enterprises, entrepreneurs, and investors are still de ning principles, methods,
and impact, so the movement is in its adolescent stage at best. This is a perfect
opportunity for designers and architects to join the conversation, create
alignments and expand on how our skills can contribute to solving these social
and environmental issues. There are many rms already doing this (see our
resources page for our list).
But we need more. I believe that by establishing design practices as social enterprises,
the architecture and design elds will be aligned with the best social and
environmental businesses out there to solve the most pressing social and
environmental issues in our world.
I’ve been mulling this topic over for a long time, and there’s a lot to it. I’d love to hear one
insight that you want to dig into further. Write your comment below, click “post
comment,” and I’ll respond ASAP!
IN PRACTICE
POSTED 19 JUNE 2013
KT,
I just read your blog this week. WOW, you are really a pioneer and express
your thoughts and convictions so well. So proud to call you my architect
daughter!
Love, Dad
REPLY
katie says:
25 June 2013 at 9:56 AM
REPLY
This is a great article Katie and really enjoyed reading it! Unfortunately,
this shift is increasingly happening in the professional arena, and not in
architectural education system. Therefore, do you have any
recommendations for students that are being trained within the
traditional setting, however have interest in architecture and social
entrepreneurship, about ways that can start to supplement their
education? examples may include courses, conferences, extracurricular
etc… Thanks again
REPLY
katie says:
26 June 2013 at 11:16 AM
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katie says:
3 July 2013 at 12:53 PM
REPLY
Thanks Katie,
Great article. Everything you describe is what we hoped to achieve when
we set up our practice 5 years ago. We have been fortunate in having
supportive clients through di cult nancial times. But sometimes it does
feel as though we are swimming against the stream. We need to
constantly remind ourselves of our ‘mission’. it can get lost in the minutiae
of ‘getting the job done’.
REPLY
Katie says:
19 December 2014 at 10:15 PM
REPLY
Katie,
Thanks for this post. Great insight into the ways designers can and should
leverage their skills to increase more social equity. This is a passion of
mine and I love to read about the spread of the socially motivated
business world. There is so much to be said about the ways we can think
beyond pro t. I visited your links page, great resources. I wanted to add
my rms name to your watch list. Myself and partner Joy Davis are Co-
CEO’s of a woman operated urban design consulting rm called
Design+Culture Lab: http://www.designculturelab.com . We are a research
based social enterprise, dedicated to the positive transformation of urban
neighborhoods. We are an emergent practice coming out of the Parsons
School of Design Strategies, MA Theories of Urban Practice. We work to
shift traditional modes of city design and bring equity to often
marginalized communities. Our work has been featured on the Design
Impact blog and I would like to invite you to check us out.
Best,
Renae
REPLY
Katie says:
19 December 2014 at 10:11 PM
Thanks for your thoughts, Renae! I’m happy that you found
the blog and resources page. I’ve added your rm to the list–
congrats on the launch, too! I look forward to keeping an eye
on your work.
REPLY
Hi Katie! I’m a graduate student at Arizona State University and was doing
research on rms that focus on social issues/designs, and I happened to
come across this article. I read through all of this and was fascinated by
the thought that there are architects that share the same passion that I
have. It’s articles like these that get me really excited to continue with my
career and be able to create a change and impact within my community.
We need more architects to think like you!
REPLY
Katie says:
29 July 2015 at 10:36 AM
Hi Olga – it’s great to hear from you! Happy to hear that the
article resonated with your interests, too. Do let me know if
there’s anything else you’re looking for during your research!
REPLY
Godwin says:
27 November 2016 at 6:10 AM
Hi Katie.
I’m not an architect. Not even an Intrprenuer. I work at Unilever, a large
company with a small, B-corp like objective. I have found your content
useful and sometimes relevant to what we do here in making Social,
Environmental and Business Impact.
You are no longer as niche as you may assume you are
REPLY
Katie says:
28 November 2016 at 4:22 PM
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TobyMary says:
15 December 2016 at 3:39 PM
Hey Kate . nice article and very enlightening. Im an interior designer with
deep passion for social entreprenuership too. So I’m thinking of doing that
through my design skills whereby the pro t generated by my company
(TMinterior) is given back to the community by providing comfort lifestyle
using my skill and the pro t for the masses and less privileged . My
question..what do I refer myself as? An interior designer? A social
Entreprenuer? A social designer? Would love to really hear from
you.thanks
REPLY
Katie says:
19 December 2016 at 4:52 PM
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