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
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
disaster recovery and resilience advice to individuals and communities affected by
natural disaster
A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
s, such as
bushfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
or
flood
A flood is an overflow of water ( 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 an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...
s, or other adverse circumstances.
The organisation operates under the umbrella of the
Australian Institute of Architects
(United we advance architecture)
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, formation =
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, status = Professional body; members association
, headquarters = L1/41 Exhibition St, Melbourne
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.
History
Architects Assist was launched on 4 January 2020 by architect
Jiri Lev
Jiri Lev (born 1979, , cs, Jiří Lev) is a Czech-Australian architect and urbanist, active in the field of sustainable residential, sacred and public architecture, disaster recovery and humanitarian development.
Lev's works are known for the ...
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 manageme ...
s (
AILA) and had about 600 participating firms.
![Architects Assist Tour 2020 transiting central Australia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/Architects_Assist_Tour_2020_transiting_central_Australia.png)
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
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
New South Wales
)
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, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
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, es ...
and
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
. 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.
See also
*
Emergency Architects Foundation
The Emergency Architects Foundation is a French non-governmental organization,
'' reconnue d'utilité publique''. It is organised as a not-for-profit foundation with the French Order of Architects as supporters and is accredited by the United Nat ...
*
Engineers Without Borders
The term Engineers Without Borders (EWB; french: Ingénieurs sans frontières, ISF) is used by a number of non-governmental organizations in various countries to describe their activity based on engineering and oriented to international development ...
*
Resilience (engineering and construction)
In the fields of engineering and construction, resilience is the ability to absorb or avoid damage without suffering complete failure and is an objective of design, maintenance and restoration for buildings and infrastructure, as well as communiti ...
*
Sustainable architecture
Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Assistance request pageArchitects Assist homepage
Humanitarian aid organizations
Architecture organisations based in Australia
Organizations established in 2020
2020 establishments in Australia
Architecture-related professional associations