Architects Assist (AA) is a national organisation of Australian

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

s, other built environment professionals and students providing

pro bono ( English: 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. The term traditionally referred to provision of legal services by legal professionals for people who a ...

disaster recovery and resilience advice to individuals and communities affected by

natural disaster A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...

s, such as

bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

s, or other adverse circumstances. The organisation now operates under the

Australian Institute of Architects The Australian Institute of Architects, officially the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (abbreviated as RAIA), is Australia's professional body for architects. Its members use the post-nominals FRAIA (Fellow), ARAIA (Associate Member) an ...

History

Architects Assist was launched on 4 January 2020 by architect Jiri Lev in response to the 2019-20 Australian bushfires disaster, as a "platform for equitable access to sustainable and resilient architecture". By 7 January hundreds of architecture firms, sole practitioners and student volunteers had registered as members and the organisation started receiving first assistance requests from bushfire victims. The organisation operated grassroots, without funding. On 9 January 2020 Architects Assist formally came under the umbrella of the Australian Institute of Architects. In February 2020 it had about 550 member architecture firms and 1500 architecture student volunteers. In March 2020 Architects Assist begun including members from related professions such as town planners ( PIA) and

landscape architect A landscape architect is a person who is educated in the field of landscape architecture. The practice of landscape architecture includes: site analysis, site inventory, site planning, land planning, planting design, grading, storm water manage ...

s ( AILA) and had about 600 participating firms. After broad initial response both national and global, the bushfire recovery was slowed down by the 2020 coronavirus outbreak in Australia. Architects Assist representatives toured bushfire-affected regions across Victoria,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. Simultaneously, local bushfire recovery community workshops were organised by member architects. As of late 2020 hundreds of residential, commercial and civic projects initiated through the organisation were under progress. The initiative was fully taken over by the Australian Institute of Architects in March 2021 to continue serving individuals and communities affected by disasters and other adverse circumstances. In 2022 Architects Assist provided assistance in Eastern Australia floods recovery. The initiative was re-launched in April 2023, to provide support to communities affected by natural disasters and other adversities, helping them to rebuild and recover. People who are left homeless from natural disasters are referred to Australian Institute of Architects' members, who assist in redesigning and rebuilding homes at reduced costs or pro bono.

Examples of work

* The Cobargo RSL Memorial Hall, Cobargo NSW * Cobargo Santa Project, Cobargo NSW * Rosedale House, Rosedale NSW * Brisbane flood-resilient ferry terminal,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

QLD * Cobargo Community Hall, Cobargo NSW * Rebuild Cobargo Main Street project, Cobargo NSW

References

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External links

Assistance request page

Architects Assist homepage
Humanitarian aid organizations Architecture organisations based in Australia Organizations established in 2020 2020 establishments in Australia Architecture-related professional associations

History

Examples of work

See also

References

External links