D4C (Design for Communities NGO) is an associated foundation based in Vienna and Beirut that brings together designers and professionals from a variety of backgrounds to engage in community projects in different countries. The interdisciplinary platform connects architects, landscape and urban designers, planners, environmental, climate, mechanical, and civil engineers through a diverse portfolio of projects operating at the highest levels of innovation in the field. With many partners engaged professionally in practice and/or academia, projects by D4C are informed by considerable resources in research and realized through professional engagement in the field.
OUR MISSION
The creation of sustainable, green, and healthy environments is a significant and urgent priority. Designers at D4C shoulder this responsibility to create a better future by actively engaging in the sustainable development of cities, settlements, and neighborhoods across the region. With the vision of elevating the quality of life in neglected and marginalized communities, D4C works in tandem with locals to develop environmentally conscious and sustainable designs. Such engagement works to preserve the nature and livelihoods of present and future generations.
D4C is also dedicated to sharing design expertise in service of the education of students and other beneficiaries as a means of maximizing the sustainability of its impact. Through the advocacy of a participatory process that both engages and encourages locals, community members are empowered through the recovery and reconstruction of their futures.- Provide spaces and facilities for a sustainable development of neglected communities
- Develop projects that foster social solidarity
- Increase the quality of life in marginalized communities.
- Empower disadvantaged groups to become agents of change in their local communities
- Help to preserving the culture and heritage of the community
- Engage in nature preservation projects
- Educate students and young professionals in the field of community service
Design & Implementation
D4C is engaged in the design and implementation of community-based projects such as schools, libraries, vocational centers, and medical clinics in service of neglected and marginalized communities. Projects work to limit the effects of conflict and disaster, restore and rehabilitate architectural heritage, and aid in the protection of the natural environment. To bring these projects to life, D4C teams up with NGOs and international agencies as well as local and national authorities and educational institutions. D4C takes on the responsibility of design and implementation through the solicitation of projects, the preparation of the brief, and the acquisition of funding while also bringing together professionals, specialists, and scholars across a variety of fields.
Research & Development
Research begins with a comprehensive survey of the marginalized community in question and a thorough understanding of the context within which it exists. D4C is able to develop relevant design strategies and sustainable solutions for the issues at hand through this rigorous dedication to research. The platform concerns itself with the design and exploration of innovative strategies that draw on local vernacular design while also engaging the technical expertise of the team. Thorough data analysis, simulations, material testing, and prototype fabrication inform the application of D4C’s cost-efficient and ecologically respectful relief efforts. Learn More
Education
Active D4C members are affiliated with universities and/or are active training programs within their relevant professional frameworks. This opportunity bridges the gap between advanced research and the implementation of projects. By organizing workshops and study programs, young architects and engineers are exposed to advanced design strategies applied to projects realized in the field and understand firsthand how their proposals can make a significant impact on the ground. This accelerates the flow of knowledge across relevant fields and thus empowers a larger community to act in service of the development of sustainable, healthy, and environmentally sensitive post-conflict interventions.
OUR METHODOLOGY
The D4C platform adopts an action-oriented research approach within a professional framework to engage in relief and reconstruction projects. By addressing and intervening in areas of conflict, D4C acts as a catalyst for sustainable development of relief structures and reconstruction in order to improve the lives of some of the country’s most marginalized communities.
The D4C initiative applies substantial knowledge and expertise in architecture, heritage preservation, landscape and urban design, sustainability, and civil engineering to create innovative solutions capable of specifically addressing the challenges posed by migration, displacement, and reconstruction.
The experimental nature of D4C is its source of strength in that research, innovation, and exploration in the field inform the innovativeness of its interventions. Through its involvement in academia D4C is also able to organize workshops for students and young professionals as a means of engaging enthusiastic young architects and engineers with authorities in the field looking to address some of the most pressing social and cultural issues of our time. This encourages sustainable project development within a participatory process that directly engages beneficiaries and locals alike.
CONTACT US
Design for Communities (D4C Beirut)
Sadat Street, Aramouny Building, Floor 2
Hamra, Beirut, Lebanon
service@d4communities.org
+96170758269
Organizer: Karim Najjar (Founder/President)
Ministry of Interior Affairs, Lebanon Reg. Nr. 2062
Design for Communities (D4C Vienna)
Thinking Hand Verein zur Stärkung und Förderung sozialer Bauprojekte Eingetragener Verein
Seidlgasse 41/5A
A-1030 Vienna, Austria
service@d4communities.org
+43-1-5953408
Organizer: Rames Najjar (Founder/President)
ZVR-Zahl 1441311513