GRANTHAM, Pa. (Oct. 2, 2007) — Noting that only two percent of home buyers work with an architect, Bryan Bell will address his passion for bringing architectural services to broader populations in his Oct. 23 lecture, “Design for the 98% Without Architects,” at Messiah College.  Bell will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Hostetter Chapel on the college’s Grantham campus; the event is free and open to the public.

Bell has spent 14 years working to make architectural services available to those traditionally not reached by the profession.  After graduating with degrees from Princeton and Yale, Bell began working with non-profit agencies that specialized in serving low-income individuals.  Bell says of his work with migrant farmers, “I can honestly say that this is my dream job.”  In 1991, he founded Design Corps with the mission “to provide the benefits of architecture to those traditionally unserved by the profession” and focused on developing a participatory design process utilizing economic materials and production systems.  Work by Design Corps was included in the 2003 Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Design Triennial exhibit.  Bell also provides individual design service for low-income families through his program, Direct-to-You Design.

Bell’s efforts to motivate the newest generation of architects to consider design for low-income families are far-reaching.  He started an internship program with the AmeriCorps national service program for young designers interested in the social application of architecture.  In addition, he works with graduate students and leads “Structures for Inclusion” conferences at universities; the result of these conferences is a 30-essay book, “Good Deeds, Good Design.”