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2012

  • Work on this object began.

2016

2025

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Building Dignity

This is a Project. It was designed by Mahlum and collaborator: Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence. It is dated 2012–present.

A survivor-centered advocacy group, Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence partnered with Mahlum architecture firm to design Building Dignity, a flexible and accessible online tool for advocates, architects, and policy makers. It aligns design strategies with emerging thinking on safety, healing, and empowerment for domestic violence survivors and their children. The website calls for critical thinking about sheltering and for community involvement instead of secrecy, because today’s technology makes maintaining a secret location unrealistic—provoking a national conversation about creating safer, community-engaged domestic violence shelters and how design can help survivors rebuild a sense of dignity.

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Building Dignity: The Essence of Advocacy

Building Dignity is a flexible and accessible online tool for advocates, architects, and policy makers. It aligns design strategies with emerging thinking on safety, healing, and empowerment for...

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition By the People: Designing a Better America.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/420777897/ |title=Building Dignity |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=11 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>