Australian architects are rallying to rebuild communities destroyed by the bushfires by offering to work for free. The Victorian arm of the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA) has received more than 60 offers of pro bono work, a figure expected to rise significantly in the coming weeks. The pro bono services on offer range from time, to the offer of existing plans and from masterplanning services to collating guidelines for fire-safe design.
Melbourne-based practice Billard Leece Partnership is offering pro bono
planning expertise to the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority to be headed by Victoria police chief commissioner, Christine Nixon, along with an undisclosed cash donation.
“I think a lot of architects would be prepared to donate some time for free, a couple of days perhaps, if you get 50 or 100 people doing that you’ve already done a year’s work,” a sole practitioner Emilio Spina who has offered his time to the Architects Registration Board of Victoria told Architecture & Design.
Speed is really important, he said. “We need to get people in housing, even if we design temporary housing for a year or two.”
However, Emergency Architects’ president Andrea Neild disagrees, arguing that temporary housing usually becomes inadequate permanent housing and is often a waste of money.
The voluntary organization has offered its services and volunteers to the cause. “It’s when people are uninsured that we feel Emergency Architects can make a difference, and that’s where we’re lending our support. I think our role is primarily to assist those who are uninsured and we have a large amount of volunteers ready to do that,” Neild told Architecture & Design.
