Welcome to Freedom By Design!

FBD'S MISSION:

Definition from the AIAS FBD official website:

"Freedom by Design™, the AIAS community service program in partnership with the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), uses the talents of architecture students to radically impact the lives of people in their community through modest design and construction solutions. The program embraces efforts to provide both design-build and engagement solutions to address 5 barriers:

Physical
Educational
Environmental
Socio-Economic
Cultural

Freedom by Design™ (FBD) encourages students to serve their communities by addressing issues with design solutions. FBD provides real-world experience through working with clients, learning from local licensed architects and contractors, and experiencing the practical impacts of architecture and design."

OUR PROJECTS:

The Weatherization Kit

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Who are we?

With a love for waffles and uplifting the community, we are composed of students excited to engage with the Pittsburgh community and develop design-build projects to better support the community. Ranging across years and disciplines, we are devoted to working together to advance our involvement within the Pittsburgh and greater Pittsburgh community.

Join us from 6pm - 7pm in the NEXUS

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

To succeed we must work WITH the community, not FOR the community.
To be sustainable as an organization there must be a high level of engagement on both sides; the students will feel more invested in the projects, and this gives the community more ownership over the final product.
Be wary of those who want to build only for the sake of building. Public interest design is not about building the most, it is about having the most impact. Completing vanity projects will do more harm than good.
We must EARN the trust of our clients. working with vulnerable communities means that we must always be reliable and accountable. Failing our clients not only results in those clients being let down, but also creates a loss of trust that we may not be able to get back.