Each year, PAYETTE embarks on a collaborative effort to make our design services accessible to local communities through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. Our talented designers dedicate their time to planning and designing solutions for our non-profit community partners. Each year, PAYETTE donates more than 1,000 hours to design projects that range from urban planning, to landscape design and interior renovation. Through this highly collaborative process, we help our community partners tackle problems they are facing while building stronger relationships with each other.
Over one third of PAYETTE staff volunteer in this program and each team is led by a young designer. With such a wide range of design talents, we are able to support projects of different scales and typologies. Deliverables typically include materials used for grant and donor funding or for municipal permitting.
It all starts with a sketch.
Sketches from the desk of PAYETTE Principal, Bob Schaeffner.
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Collaborate with community partners
Weeks of preliminary planning and collaboration prior to Martin Luther King, Jr. Day are spent to ensure that the design solutions are tailored to the needs of each individual community. We meet with the community partners to listen to their needs, define the problems and produce the most effective deliverables. We use hand sketches, plan drawings and renderings to help our partners envision how the solutions will come to life. The Day of Service program creates an environment where we can engage with different organizations and utilize our skills as architects, landscape designers, interior designers and building scientists to support them in their missions.
Positive impact on larger community
This first-hand experience on community-focused projects provides us with a deeper appreciation of how our creative skills create a positive impact on the community. Each year, more than one third of PAYETTE staff volunteer in the Day of Service program. With such a wide range of design talents, we are able to support projects of different scales and typologies, from converting existing rooms into a makerspace and art workshop in a museum, to developing a cultural district map, to improving a pedestrian path for public use.
I have been so struck by how committed and accomplished our partners are, and what they do for their communities with limited resources. Many organizations are very small operations, led by a few dedicated, inventive and multi-talented people. Their enduring commitment motivates me to do the best we can for them.
SARAH RADDING, SENIOR ASSOCIATE AND FORMER MLK DOS CHAIR
Our Pro Bono Design Philosophy
Each project must make a difference in the community, and it must be beautiful.
PARTICIPATE IN THE MLK DAY OF SERVICE
In early Fall each year, we put a Request for Proposal (RFP) to the Greater Boston and New England community to submit proposals for projects that require architectural and planning services. Selected community partners pair with a team of 8-12 PAYETTE staff. In January, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the PAYETTE teams dedicate the entire day to designing solutions for the issues posed by the projects. At the end of the program, each team presents their design solutions and deliverables to their community partner.
Program Timeline