Founded in 2009 with an initial endowment of $1.9 million, HMC’s nonprofit Designing Futures Foundation (DFF) has donated about $230,000 in its three years of existence, including $105,000 in scholarships to California students. The grants help promising high schoolers with an interest in architecture, design, engineering, education, or healthcare pay for expenses like test preparation services, computers, and college entrance exam fees and tuition. The scholarships can be extended for up to five years of college.
Executive Director Adrienne Luce says the foundation serves as an extension of HMC’s social responsibility. The DFF’s Community Project initiative provides grants of up to $10,000 to HMC employees for projects for that benefit the communities in which they live and work.
For example, three HMC employees—Pablo La Roche, PhD, LEED AP, Sustainable Design Director; Eera Babtiwale, LEED AP BD+C, Environmental Analyst; and Sandy Kate, REFP, LEED AP, Associate Principal/Senior Education Facilities Planner—proposed a sustainability education program at McKinley Elementary School in Santa Monica. The DFF sponsored nine workshops for 220 McKinley students in grades 3-5 over three days, providing 13½ hours of instruction on energy, water, and waste.
The DFF has funded scholarship programs at Ramona High School, a healthcare academy in Riverside, Calif., and at the Center for Advanced Research and Technology, in Fresno. The DFF also supports Bright Prospect, a college access and retention program in Pomona, and hosted a career day for students aspiring to become architects, engineers, or designers, topped off by a tour of the Ontario office.
Scott Plante, AIA, LEED AP, Senior Project Designer, won a $7,500 DFF grant to help restore the historic Micheltorena Steps in Silver Lake, the vintage 1920s-LA neighborhood where he lives. “The steps are on a main route to the school, and they’re in a state of disrepair,” says Plante, who serves on the Silver Lake Urban Design Committee. The $24,000 project, with donations from the DFF, the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council, and the Safe Routes to Schools program, plus a lighting upgrade by the local water and power utility, will be completed in two phases starting next June.
See the video about the DFF and the Micheltorena Steps project at: www.BDCnetwork.com/HMC/DFF.
At the university level, the Designing Futures Foundation has:
- Provided a $10,000 seed grant to help Cal Poly Pomona start a healthcare architecture studio, the first of its kind west of the Mississippi.
- Worked with Harvey Mudd College and the California Institute of the Arts on a project that uses online games and resources to foster greater environmental responsibility among college students.
- Funded an $18,000 water demonstration garden at Norco College, a two-year institution in Riverside.
- Sponsored research by HMC staff and consulting experts at UC San Diego’s Calit2 StarCAVE virtual reality environment on the effects of the built environment on building users. +
Related Stories
Resiliency | Aug 19, 2021
White paper outlines cost-effective flood protection approaches for building owners
A new white paper from Walter P Moore offers an in-depth review of the flood protection process and proven approaches.
Urban Planning | Aug 16, 2021
Building with bikes in mind: How cities can capitalize on the pandemic’s ‘bike boom’ to make streets safer for everyone
Since early 2020, Americans have been forced to sequester themselves in their homes with outdoor activities, in most cases, being the sole respite for social distancing. And many of people are going back to the basics with a quintessential outdoor activity: biking. Bike sales absolutely skyrocketed during the pandemic, growing by 69% in 2020.
Senior Living Design | Aug 13, 2021
Designing with dignity for senior living, with Mike Rodebaugh, LEO A DALY
In this exclusive interview for HorizonTV, Mike Rodebaugh, AIA, Senior Living Sector Leader with LEO A DALY, describes how his firm applies "hospitality magic tricks" in its senior living communities, using design to lend dignity to residents, staff, and residents' families and social circles.
Architects | Aug 5, 2021
Lord Aeck Sargent's post-Katerra future, with LAS President Joe Greco
After three years under the ownership of Katerra, which closed its North American operations last May, the architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent is re-establishing itself as an independent company, with an eye toward strengthening its eight practices and regional presence in the U.S.
Architects | Aug 5, 2021
Lord Aeck Sargent's post-Katerra future, with LAS President Joe Greco
After three years under the ownership of Katerra, which closed its North American operations last May, the architecture firm Lord Aeck Sargent is re-establishing itself as an independent company, with an eye toward strengthening its eight practices and regional presence in the U.S.
Office Buildings | Aug 4, 2021
‘Lighthouse’ office tower will be new headquarters for A2A in Milan
The tower, dubbed Torre Faro, reimagines the company’s office spaces to adapt to people’s ever-changing needs at work.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 30, 2021
Multifamily housing for a post-COVID world
A trio of multifamily design experts presents concepts for post-pandemic apartment developments.
Architects | Jul 23, 2021
NCARB releases demographic breakdown of licensing exam pass rates
The organization is launching initiatives to figure out what’s causing disparities among candidate groups.
Wood | Jul 16, 2021
The future of mass timber construction, with Swinerton's Timberlab
In this exclusive for HorizonTV, BD+C's John Caulfield sat down with three Timberlab leaders to discuss the launch of the firm and what factors will lead to greater mass timber demand.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 15, 2021
Economic rebound leads to record increase in multifamily asking rents
Across the country, multifamily rents have skyrocketed. Year-over-year rents are up by double digits in nine of the top 30 markets, while national YoY rent growth is up 6.3%. Emerging from the pandemic, a perfect storm of migration, enhanced government stimulus and a hot housing market, among other factors, has enabled this extremely strong growth.