It's no wonder that customers at the weekly Ballard farmer's market do a double take when they see John Morefield's unique handmade setup -- commissioning an architect's services is often seen as a luxury reserved for big-name businesses, civic projects or private clients with deep pockets. But Morefield's simple wooden booth proclaims (handwritten in his profession's unmistakable sophisticated scrawl): "Architecture 5¢."
From behind his booth (and via his website), he offers passersby advice on whatever project they might be contemplating ... from adding a deck to upgrading their kitchen, to designing a full home remodel. He donates the nickels they leave to a local food bank. And as a result of this leap-of-faith outreach project, Morefield -- who was laid off from two jobs in the past year -- reports to Architectural Record that, his "plate's almost full" with new projects from the clients he's gained at the market. His diverse assignments are almost all small, quick home improvements from an array of neighbors who often say things like "we wanted an architect, but we didn't know where to look." (Of course the substantive work that develops from the conversations Morefield has started are billed at a more typical rate.)
Though the booth has been a good marketing tool, he says the web has been the source of about 95 percent of his new projects so far. But Morefield's innovative approach has earned him national press and certainly seems to be keeping his spirits up and his schedule full at a time when his industry is ailing. He's mulling over plans to start up local booths in other urban neighborhoods around the U.S.
What I love about this, besides the friendly, small-town business approach, is that it brings an approachability to architecture that wasn't there before. Knowing what a difference good design can make for sustainability -- by allowing us to live more comfortably in dense communities, enabling us to conserve energy dramatically, and more -- the time is ripe for teaching a new audience what they can accomplish in their own corner of the built environment.
Morefield's specific work has been to help people with home improvement, and his tactic is first and foremost just a smart strategy for promoting his own business. But with new ideas out there, including the national-scale Architecture 2030 Challenge Stimulus, or the possibility of mandatory home energy audits, architects and landscape designers are among those best qualified to help us build a bright green city. It's good to see one reaching out to neighbors right alongside local farmers and bakers.
Photo source: Architectural Record.
