How We Partner

Our aim to put design excellence into service for communities. D/A teams provide pro-bono design services and visioning in six-month long Terms for selected organizations and communities of need.

For projects with greater complexity, those requiring specialized expertise or term projects requiring an extended engagement, D/A builds professional teams to provide competitive services to take projects through completion.

Equity, expertise, and design excellence characterize every Design Advocates effort.

Our Work

A network of experts

D/A is built on a cooperative structure: a network of architects, designers, and engineers who collaborate to bring an extraordinarily broad and diverse range of creative and technical expertise to every project. Our strength is in our number. Over 250 independent firms and volunteers have participated in D/A projects, initiatives, and advocacy: Architects, engineers, designers of interiors, furniture, products, landscape architects and designers, urban designers, planners, graphic designers, photographers, and more.

2023 Term

January-July 2023

The current D/A term is a mix of pro-bono and low-bono projects and initiatives addressing hunger, reproductive rights, arts and design based learning, family services, and public space advocacy.

2023 Term - Current

D/A builds collaborative teams for each project or initiative and provides low-cost or pro-bono services suited to the needs of each project. Our network of participating firms and designers organize their efforts in six-month blocks of time, collaborating with non-profit and institutional clients and the communities they serve.

  • Reproductive Health Services

    D/A is collaborating with Syracuse Professor Lori Brown and architect Jordan Kravitz to create architectural design resources for abortion and reproductive health clinics and women from states with abortion bans who are seeking reproductive health care out of state.

  • Grassroots Grocery

    D/A is working with Grassroots Grocery a nonprofit that installs community refrigerators around New York City to refine their design language for existing and upcoming installations.

  • NYC Mesh

    D/A teams have been working with NYC Mesh on low-cost broadband installations at three NYCHA developments in Brooklyn and the Bronx. We are developing maps, storytelling, and community outreach materials for storytelling and community engagement purposes.

  • Concourse House

    D/A is working with Concourse House a Bronx based transitional housing center for women with children under the age of 10 on the design of three outdoor garden pavilions based on participatory design workshopping with the families at the shelter and a host of local arts and educational institutions.

  • East Harlem Family Enrichment Center

    D/A is working with Union Settlement which provides family and social services to over 10,000 families in East Harlem on a new Family Enrichment Center, a novel community centered social services model funded by the NYC Office of Children and Family Services.

  • New Streetscapes

    D/A is developing proposals for two invited RFPs that consider the future of the architecture of the street - unifying pedestrianization, outdoor dining, street trees and greening, storm water management, pocket parks, and other street infrastructure and activation through partnership, coalition building, and community engagement.

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2022 Term

D/A has completed pro-bono work on a new headquarters for the City Parks Foundation in the Central Park Arsenal. CPF provides programming in sports, the arts, community building, and environmental education in New York City Parks across all five boroughs, serving over 300,000 New York families, school children, and individuals.

Through our collaborative design initiatives, we have developed schematic designs for three Outdoor Sensory Pavilions in the garden at Concourse House, a Bronx shelter for women and young children transitioning out of homelessness. D/A developed construction details for a Sound Pavilion which is also a collaborative process furthered through participatory art workshops and with our community-based fabricators and suppliers and families at Concourse House.

Design Advocates teamed up with New York City College of Technology to launch the school’s inaugural College NOW Summer Architecture and Urban Design Immersion Program. During the six-week program, the students explored concepts of design, form, communities, and advocacy with their direct experience of field trips, workshops, and guest lectures. This free program is open to NYC’s public high school students, and its inaugural class consists of twenty-two students from all corners of the city.

Working in partnership with NYC Mesh, D/A is developing three wireless broadband installations serving New York City Housing Authority complexes in Brooklyn and the Bronx with low-cost, reliable wireless broadband.

Previous Projects

In partnership with Community League of the Heights (CLOTH), D/A created a new storefront and sidewalk seating and retail display element for Sisters Uptown Bookstore in Washington Heights. Sisters is one of the only Black woman owned booksellers in New York and has served as a community hub and resource in Washington Heights since 2007.

Union Settlement

D/A worked with Union Settlement to provide interior design and programming for new administrative offices and a new program space in East Harlem. Established in 1895, Union Settlement is one of the oldest settlement houses in New York, providing community-based services and programs that support 10,000 families in East Harlem.

Do you have a suggestion for an organization or entity in need?

Please get in touch with us.