Freedom By Design: ready….launch!

As we begin to finish off the semester we wanted to re-introduce ourselves and the new Freedom By Design™ crew.

Team Captain – John Pasowicz

- Oversees local initiative

- Point person for AIAS Office

- Attends annual training session

- Leads client interviews, selection process submits required AIAS progress reports

Project Manager – Tran Nguyen

- Oversees specific FBD project

- Establishes schedule

- Coordinates approval process

- Communicates directly with target client

- Coordinates individual team progress

- Coordinates contractors (if necessary)

- Oversees specific FBD projects

Fund Raiser – Sarah Harvey 

- Develops fund raising strategy

- Locates donated materials

- Requests funds from AIAS National Office

- Works with Captain and Project Manager to facilitate success

Public Relations Coordinator/ Historian – TBA

- Records progress of team (multi-media)

- Assembles media announcements for release

- Assembles evidence for FORUM and Grassroots presentations

- Assists fund raiser

Team Members – All of you

- Works collaboratively to design/ implement solutions

- Attends scheduled meetings, builds

- Assists with approval process

- Assists with fundraising

Design Mentor and Construction Mentor – Professor Micheal Glynn and Professor Gregory Grzeslo

Thats a highlight of our new team and structure. We would like to have an informational meeting Wednesday May 2nd at 6:00pm Lower Core to discuss with those interested; positions, our first project!, and summer opportunities. Email aias@iit.edu attn:Freedom By Design with comments and questions.

Edgar Martinez Project

iitAIAS Freedom By Design™ has been announced as a partner with SAIC Freedom By Design™ on the Edgar Martinez Project. 

Edgar Martinez was a teacher in the Chicago Public School system.  After reporting a student for selling drugs, he was targeted by that same student, and shot several times in his home.  He is now confined to a wheelchair.  His two story home is not only woefully inaccessible for someone of his limited mobility, but is also falling into disrepair because he is unable to perform the necessary maintenance.

We have started a fundraising campaign and with the help of the community and YOU we will be able to redefine Edgar’s access to his home.  Please follow the link and share it to assist in reaching our goal.

“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” – George Eliot

Coming Soon – Freedom By Design (FBD)

Large numbers of people feel confined in their own homes. They are unable to get into their showers, ascend steps, open doors or pass through doorways. Most troubling is that many people are unable to flee their homes in an emergency without assistance because the residences are not properly designed for their specific needs. Freedom by Design™, the AIAS community service program, utilizes the talents of architecture students to radically impact the lives of people in their community through modest design and construction solutions. Vital modifications are made to enhance the homes of low-income and disabled individuals by addressing their struggles with everyday tasks such as bathing, ascending stairs and opening doors. Our priority is improving the safety, comfort and dignity of the home’s occupants.

Through numerous AIAS chapters, Freedom by Design™ (FBD) teaches students how to resolve accessibility issues while simultaneously providing them with the real world experience of working with a client, mentorship from a local architect and constructor, and an understanding of the practical impact of architecture and design. You are invited to get involved. The AIAS is seeking mentors and supporters to help us grow this important program. Please help us better the lives of those in need.

So do you think it would be cool to have this program our school that uses architecture and deign to improve peoples lives?

WE DO! This year marks our launch of this program within iitAIAS. It is not without a team of dedicated students and faculty that our future endeavors will be successful. We are asking YOU if you want to be part of this.

Email aias@iit.edu for questions.

New Freedom By Design Video

“You can’t really know a person until you walk a mile in their shoes”