From Builder Online:
In the construction industry, community service and charitable giving comes in many forms. While some companies will choose to donate a percentage of their revenue to relevant housing-related causes, others may take an active role and build homes for those in need.
Columbus, Ohio–based Moody Nolan, the largest African American–owned and managed architecture firm in the U.S., has contributed time and energy to several community programs in the past, including pro bono work, specialty events, outings, and dinners, but decided it was time to devote more time and resources to a hands-on product that would directly help the least advantaged within their communities.
As a result, the Moody Nolan Legacy House project was created. The project aims to provide free-standing, mortgage-free homes to financially struggling or homeless families who are unable to purchase a home themselves. In addition, the project serves as a viable template of affordable home design that could be replicated by other industry professionals and help solve one of housing’s largest issues.
“Every city that we are in has a housing problem,” Moody says. “We decided to address the bottom scale of housing and design a house that could go into a neighborhood that any young professional would like to have themselves, but make it small so it could be maintained.”
After setting finances aside to design and build the home, the firm sought out partners that could help offset the overall costs. Then, it teamed with the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, which donated the initial land, and the YMCA of Central Ohio and Southeast, Inc., to select a family in need.
Read Builder Online's article "Moody Nolan’s Legacy House Provides New Prototype of Affordable Home Design," featuring the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority.