The moral compass of the profession of architecture needs realignment, and this must begin with the upcoming generation of architects. Currently we exemplify the egotistical “superstar” architects of our time, even as they demonstrate little regard for their communities, their employees, and even their clients. The ideals of architectural academia, embodied in studio projects such as low-income housing, non-profit nature centers, and sustainable third-world development projects are abandoned upon graduation for the goals of increased profit margins and pier accolades. Sadly, the Intern Development Program’s nod to community service is too often fulfilled by interns
pounding a few nails at a local Habitat house in an obligatory effort to complete their registration exam requirements.

Architect Samuel Mockbee was a rare example of one who stepped from behind the rhetoric of the classroom podium to help realize this mission of actualized public service through his rural studio program serving the needs of Alabama’s and Mississippi’s rural poor. Unfortunately, after a series of mournful editorials following his death, it appears that Samuel Mockbee’s legacy is already being forgotten in favor of the next architectural whim. What will it take for work such as his to become a movement? Already developments in sustainability have led to a reevaluation of how we as designers interact with our physical environments. It seems only fitting that we now begin seeking to address the world’s humanitarian needs with the same rigor as we have sought to address its environmental ones.
Anyone having spent any significant time in the developing world can attest to the incredible privilege that we as trained professionals have been given through our western education and experiences. As recipients of such opportunity, we have a moral obligation to use these skills as agents for global change. Architects must actively seek opportunities to use design to improve the world rather than waiting for the world to come running to us for a saviour. A trip to the AIA website should not require an exhaustive search of public service opportunities, but rather a prominent and continually updated web link enabling visitors to the site an easy reference tool for getting involved. The “public service” aspect of IDP must be emphasized as among the most important aspects of the internship, rather than an obligatory nuisance. A partnership between interns and licensed architects using their architectural skills to provide pro-bono services to the community seems to be a logical extension of the mentor relationship so encouraged within the IDP framework.

As a profession of problem solvers, let us attack the issues of sub-standard housing, inadequate health-care facilities, and insufficient schools. This begins with promoting a value system which places a higher priority on architecture which seeks to improve the condition of humanity above that which facilitates architectural pilgrimages for wealthy art connoisseurs. The internship process must move beyond redlines and reflected ceiling plans to one which aims to instill the lost nobility of the profession to a new guard of civil servants.