What Architects Without Borders - Oregon does

Architects Without Borders - Oregon (AWB-Oregon) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2005 in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. The organization provides pro bono architectural design and planning services through an all-volunteer network of design professionals and students, serving nonprofit organizations and government agencies that lack access to professional architectural assistance. AWB-Oregon operates with no paid staff under a tiny annual budget funded through donations, governed by a Board of Directors and Steering Committee, and guided by the Hasselt Charter.

AWB-Oregon's portfolio spans local Portland/Oregon projects and international work across approximately 20 countries, including school campuses (Wogagen School in Ethiopia, Laliguras School in Nepal, buildOn Haiti prototype schools, Hope School in Kenya, Withergreen School in Liberia), humanitarian facilities (Elman Peace Center in Somalia, Haiti Eye Clinic), housing prototypes (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity, WATTSMAKER low-rise housing in Los Angeles), and homelessness-focused designs (Plywood POD, Sleeping POD, homeless storage facility). Its technical methodology centers on charrette-based collaborative design, confined masonry construction for seismic resilience, and climate-responsive modular school designs featuring passive ventilation, rainwater harvesting, and solar energy.

The business model is donation-funded pro bono service delivery; AWB-Oregon charges nothing for its architectural services and accepts donations via PayPal and check. Project requests are submitted by nonprofits and government agencies to [email protected] and reviewed monthly by the steering committee. The organization markets through its website, email newsletter, community events hosted at partner architecture firms, and press coverage in local publications. All services are provided at no cost to clients through volunteer labor, with no commercial pricing or revenue stream.

Name

Architects Without Borders - Oregon

Legal name

Architects Without Borders - Oregon

Website

https://awboregon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Architects Without Borders - Oregon is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2005 that provides pro bono architectural design and planning services to nonprofits and government agencies, partnering with communities in approximately 20 countries on schools, housing, and humanitarian facilities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Pro bono architecture
• Humanitarian design
• Community planning
• Nonprofit design services
• Resilient building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: AWB-Oregon operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that funds its operations entirely through donations from individuals and organizations. The organization states it operates on a tiny annual budget and welcomes donations of any amount.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Architects Without Borders - Oregon provides pro bono architectural and planning design services through an all-volunteer network of design professionals and students, partnering with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to deliver meaningful projects — schools, community facilities, healthcare clinics, housing prototypes, and shelters — for underserved communities locally in the Pacific Northwest and in approximately 20 countries worldwide.

Product overview

Architects Without Borders - Oregon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates as an all-volunteer network providing pro bono architectural and planning design services. The organization connects volunteer design professionals and students with communities in need worldwide, partnering with nonprofits to deliver meaningful projects ranging from school campuses and community centers to housing prototypes and public facilities. AWB-Oregon's portfolio includes international school projects (Ethiopia Wogagen School, Nepal Laliguras School, Haiti schools, Kenya Hope School, Liberia Withergreen School), housing designs (ECHO Elder Cottage, WATTSMAKER low-rise housing), humanitarian facilities (Elman Peace Center in Somalia, Haiti Eye Clinic), and local Portland projects (homeless shelters, storage facilities, park designs). All services are provided at no cost to clients through volunteer labor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pro Bono Architectural Design Services All-volunteer architectural and planning design services provided at no cost to nonprofit organizations and government agencies, connecting volunteer design professionals and students with communities in need locally in the Pacific Northwest and globally across approximately 20 countries.
• Wogagen School (Ethiopia) Multi-phase campus design for a K-8 school serving 1,000 students in Debre Birhan, Ethiopia, including classroom buildings, composting latrine facilities, and site development with gardens, orchards, and irrigation systems; partnership with The Community Project begun in 2014.
• Laliguras School Design (Nepal) Resilient, modular school prototype design for Nepal featuring seven-meter square classroom modules, earthquake resilience, flood resistance, passive ventilation, solar energy, and rainwater harvesting systems; became a semi-finalist entry in The Nepal School Project competition in 2025.
• buildOn Haiti Prototype School Three-classroom elementary school prototype for rural Haiti accommodating 50 children per room, emphasizing structural integrity, natural light, and natural ventilation; nonprofit buildOn completed a dozen schools using this design.

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed projects in approximately 20 countries since 2005
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.

• buildOncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with buildOn, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing education to children in the poorest and remote communities worldwide. AWB-Oregon designs sustainable schools for buildOn's projects in Nepal and Haiti, including a prototype elementary school that has been used for a dozen schools.
• The Community Project: EthiopiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with this nonprofit dedicated to creating educational facilities for new residents of Debre Birhan, Ethiopia. AWB-Oregon has provided campus planning and building design assistance since 2014 for the Wogagen School project.
• Twende SolarminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPortland-based project partner providing video documentation of school buildings and surrounding communities for the Ethiopia project.
• Lower Columbia EngineeringminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProvided assistance on the City of Vernonia Park Shelter project, working with AWB-Oregon on the multipurpose shelter design.
• KPFF Consulting EngineersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAWB volunteer from KPFF traveled to Haiti to work onsite with the Good Shepherd team on the Bon Repos Orphanage seismic upgrade project.
• Portland State University Center for Public Interest DesignmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on multiple projects including Plywood POD and Sleeping POD initiatives addressing homelessness, and the Partners on Dwelling (POD) Initiative.
• Q CentermoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Q Center, a nonprofit providing LGBTQ community services, to develop a more welcoming and functional community space at Portland's North Mississippi Ave location.
• First Step FlorencecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop a 2.87 acre site with housing units for unhoused families on the Oregon coast, including site planning, infrastructure, and building design.
• Florence Food SharecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to help expand and better connect pantry and warehouse facilities for a nonprofit serving 4,800 people and distributing 800,000+ pounds of food annually.
• JOINminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Portland nonprofit JOIN to design a facility where homeless people can store their possessions during daily pursuits.
• Global Eye ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to design an eye clinic in rural Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti, as a permanent sustainable facility to continue charitable eye care work.
• The Home Foundation of Centre County, PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to design a prototype Elder Cottage, a modular movable living space for elderly persons as an affordable alternative to assisted living facilities under the state Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity Program.
• CommunitectureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Communitecture on the Plywood POD exhibit at Portland Art Museum in connection with the Quest for Beauty exhibit about John Yeon.
• Portland Art Museum and UO John Yeon CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organizations for the Plywood POD exhibit addressing homelessness through visionary use of plywood inspired by John Yeon's work.
• AIA OregonmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership with AIA Oregon in design studios and charrettes, and educational outreach activities.
• Engineers Without Borders - Portland, MaineminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Engineers Without Borders group in Portland, Maine on the Ethiopia school project.
• The Good Shepherd Church of Boring, OregonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to repair and seismically upgrade the Bon Repos Orphanage classroom building damaged in the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
• Outside InminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Portland social service agency to develop design documents for a tattoo removal station helping homeless youth and marginalized people.
• Tryon Life Community FarmminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on various building improvements and site access projects at Tryon Life Community Farm, including the Willow Creek Forest School shelter project.
• Global Health OregonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on a solar-powered system for health clinics in the Democratic Republic of Congo, providing design services for prefabricated off-grid solar power systems.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Architects Without Borders (other U.S. chapters): Other U.S. regional chapters of the Architects Without Borders network operate the same volunteer-driven, pro bono humanitarian design model as AWB-Oregon, sharing the Hasselt Charter framework and similar community-of-practice dynamics.
• Public Architecture: U.S. nonprofit that mobilizes design professionals to serve the public good through its '1%' program and pro bono engagements. Closely comparable nonprofit pro bono architecture peer with similar volunteer-mobilization model.
• Build Change: International nonprofit specializing in disaster-resilient housing design and reconstruction. Directly comparable technical focus on seismic and climate-resilient design for vulnerable communities (overlapping with AWB-Oregon's Haiti confined masonry work).
• MASS Design Group: Nonprofit architecture firm that delivers built projects for underserved communities, with paid staff and a research-driven practice. Most directly comparable scaled pro bono architecture peer with overlapping mission in schools, housing, and health facilities.
• Article 25: UK-registered charity that provides architectural design services to communities in developing countries, with a similar humanitarian focus and reliance on volunteer professionals. Strong international peer on mission alignment.
• Communitecture: Portland-based design practice focused on community-driven architecture. Partnered with AWB-Oregon on the Plywood POD exhibit and shares overlapping client base and participatory design methodology.
• Architecture Sans Frontières: International nonprofit network of architects providing pro bono design services to underserved communities. AWB-Oregon is guided by the same Hasselt Charter as ASF, making it the closest global peer in mission, governance, and delivery model.
• Engineers Without Borders USA: Sibling discipline-specific volunteer nonprofit executing community development projects globally. AWB-Oregon has collaborated directly with the Engineers Without Borders Portland, Maine professional chapter on the Ethiopia school project.
• Community Design Collaborative: Philadelphia-based nonprofit providing pro bono pre-design and design services to nonprofits serving low-income communities. Comparable in volunteer-driven model, nonprofit client base, and pro bono design service offering.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Large international nonprofit addressing affordable housing through volunteer-driven construction. Overlaps with AWB-Oregon's affordable and accessible housing projects (e.g., First Step Florence, JOIN, ECHO Cottage) but operates at vastly greater scale with paid staff.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/architects-without-borders---oregon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Architects Without Borders - Oregon