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As a recipient of The American Institute of Architects’ biannual Latrobe Prize, Sergio Palleroni has suddenly reached the center of his field’s national stage.

Palleroni, a Portland State University architecture professor, and three colleagues from across the country won the prestigious prize for their proposed investigation into ways that architects can impact public interest projects.

The research team – Bryan Bell, Roberta Feldman, David Perkes and Palleroni – has worked for more than 20 years to effect social change. Palleroni said the team has worked in the “wild” margins of the profession, serving people – such as migrant workers and people who cannot afford to buy homes – who wouldn’t normally receive architectural services.

Now that the team has drawn attention from colleagues and the prize’s $100,000 purse, Palleroni hopes to promote architectural opportunities in a wider range of communities and create new models for young architects.

The team will collaborate with Harvard’s Kennedy School to investigate what architects are doing and, more importantly, why. The research will begin with a national survey, followed by a closer look at 100 firms pioneering broader community involvement. By examining how these firms are making money, how they organize, and what they accomplish, the team will draw conclusions to develop a public-interest practice manual.

According to Palleroni, many young architects enter the field with idealistic hopes, but end up working in more traditional, client-based practices.

“In America we’ve taken our professional limitations so seriously that we’ve painted ourselves into a corner,” he said. “We only work in certain theaters of operation, certain scenarios. Many people go into architecture thinking they’re going to be making socially significant change and working on a broader range of issues than we actually are.”

Palleroni, who grew up in Argentina, cites the transformation he has witnessed in Latin American communities over the past 20 years as part of his motivation. “I brought that urgency for change with me,” he said. “I wake up every morning and think that I’m going to effect change. I’m kind of ridiculous that way, actually,” he added, laughing.

The central role that architects play in communities throughout Mexico, Spain and Germany also inspire Palleroni. “I’d love to see the day when we have a voice that is as significant as architects in Germany have,” he said.

One American city also stands out as a model for Palleroni – Portland. “There are a lot of activist architecture firms here,” he said, citing Boora Architects and SRG Partnership Inc. as examples. “All these firms are leaders in the community, actively involved, expanding and working with the mayor and governor. I’m lucky to be in the heart of so much already,” he said.

Living among the many “amazing organizations” in Portland has led Palleroni to question how architects can become more involved. “How can architects actually team up with somebody like Outside In? How can we work with them to go after federal money to design new homes for homeless teens and change the course of their lives?”

In the next two years, Palleroni and his teammates hope to delineate answers to such questions, although they are still reeling from the announcement that they won the prize.

“All of us had this moment of elation. It happened so quickly and surprised us all,” he said. “All of the sudden, circumstances changed and we’re being thankful to the profession we’ve been criticizing all of our lives. They’ve acknowledged that we have something to contribute.

“As a country, we’re at a crossroads for a lot of big issues and I think architecture can help in a lot of areas,” Palleroni said. “There’s a clear voice that we need to deal with sustainable design issues. A lot of problems in the world are social issues as well. We should be involved in both.”