This is the third of a series of guest posts by members of the AIA's NDSA Coalition.
Millennial architecture graduates are a unique group who has generally expressed an interest in working on projects they consider to be meaningful rather than high paying. The Catch-22 is they are also the group with the some of the highest student debt in our country’s history, and which will take significant time to payback.
What if I was to tell you volunteering with a community design group in your free time would let you achieve both? The National Design Services Act (NDSA) will provide architecture graduates the opportunity to:
- Provide the opportunity to work on public benefit projects and proposals; and
- Reduce their student loan debt in as little time as one year.
Yes, it may seem too good to be true, but this is actually in the works to become a reality. The NDSA proposal is building momentum, which has led to inquiries on how a post-graduate architect adequately volunteers to participate and receive the benefits of the program.
A crucial detail to the program is the role of the Community Design Centers. In H. R. 2938, the Community Design Centers are defined as ‘non-profit organizations operated and managed by a licensed architect that conducts research and provides eligible design services for community development projects.’ These design centers would be approved by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and would require participating architecture graduates to perform ‘Eligible Design Services’ for a duration of at least one year. What are ‘Eligible Design Services’? Basically, it is performing tasks including research, analysis, schematic drawings and construction drawings for community-oriented projects.
Let’s bring it back to millennials seeking meaningful work. With a Community Design Center, a volunteer would potentially be involved in master planning initiatives, preservation and adaptive reuse scopes, barrier free design installations and various other public welfare developments. They will be focusing on an array of policy and practice driven project scopes such as designing for social equity and seeking solutions to address urban blight, assisting to developing a greener self-sufficient community, planning new public spaces, and even researching resilience measures for an area plagued by dangerous natural disasters; just to name a few... Also, let’s be honest here; most jobs an architecture graduate will work on out of school will not be in this realm every day! NDSA is proposing something exciting: opportunity to be on socially important projects and being rewarded for the effort!
Now the big question, how many of these design centers can there actually be? Try almost every city in the Unites States. Organizations like the Association for Community Design (ACD) contain networks of non-profit design centers across the country. HUD will likely look to organizations and programs like these to host volunteers seeking loan repayment. ACD’s mission emphasizes the importance in design ‘research, education, best practices and value in community design.’ Their member Community Design Centers are at the forefront in advocating design excellence and community prosperity; each location containing its own unique initiatives, projects and philosophies.
The Neighborhood Design Center of Baltimore, MD – Design Review for the West North Avenue Streetscape Master plan.
Professionally, participation with the Community Design Centers will be an opportunity to gain valuable working experience right out of school. It will be required by HUD that the participant be supervised by a licensed Architect at the Design Center, so this could also be an opportunity for logging AXP (NCARB’s revamped IDP). Socially, this can be an opportunity to network within the community and develop thoughtful and impactful proposals for the benefit of the neighborhood’s inhabitants. Lastly, this is the chance to reduce student debt and create some financial freedom for the designers and builders of our future communities.
If you are interested in the opportunities that the NDSA might afford you, join the efforts to get this legislation passed! Sign up for the Legislative Action Network and join the NDSA Coalition today! You can also follow our efforts on Facebook.
James L. Yankopoulos
Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Assoc.