176: Community-Impact Consulting

Practice Disrupted by Practice of Architecture

How can architects maximize their impact on communities through the built environment by leveraging valuable relationships, evolving technology, and sustainability?

On this episode of Practice Disrupted, we sit down with Joshua A. Foster, an award-winning community builder, designer, educator, and speaker. As the Founder and CEO of JAF Creative Solutions – a consulting firm dedicated to maximizing community impact in the AEC and real estate industries – Joshua shares his insights on aligning with architecture firms to integrate community impact into the built environment and practice.

First, Joshua explains what motivated him to create JAF Creative Solutions. He also discusses how he nurtures strong relationships with clients, industry connections, and community leaders, working together to create meaningful and lasting change.

Then, Joshua dives into his approach to defining success and value for his firm with a look at his development strategies. We also explore the challenges of building community engagement services, and Joshua explains how JAF incorporates community feedback into projects while maintaining a sustainable business model.

Architecture, for me, has always been surprisingly so traditional, even though all of the people that I've met in it are really innovative... I think that, as a whole for the world, we're in a good place. As for the profession and people that are running architecture practices, I think we're pretty behind because we're not figuring out how to maximize on all these amazing talents, thoughts, and ideas. People in the industry feel like they have to completely leave it to be able to be innovative. As a profession, it's important for us to figure out – how do we capture these ideas and innovations into the traditional practice so that we don’t necessarily have to start a whole new company? – Joshua A. Foster

To wrap up the conversation, Joshua shares his thoughts on how technology is reshaping community engagement and highlights his vision for the future of architecture along with his personal goals.

Tune in next week for an episode about designing a successful hybrid practice.

Guest:

Joshua A. Foster

Joshua A. Foster is an award-winning community builder, architectural designer, educator, and speaker. He is the Founder and CEO of JAF — a community-impact-focused consulting firm empowering the AEC and real estate industry with the tools to maximize impact in the built environment. Joshua also serves on multiple local and national non-profit boards including, the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA), the Long Beach Community Design Center, Architecture + Advocacy, and the USC Architectural Guild. A native of the Philadelphia area, Joshua is a graduate of both Columbia University and the University of Southern California.

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