Photo credit to Localworks one of our GC2025 finalist teams.

Our journey began in 2011 with a simple conviction: architecture is a human process, and relationships matter more than transactions. A--D was born as a non-profit to document real-world stories where architecture is grounded in communities and trusted relations.

We operate online, but we've shared many coffee and dinner when members passing by Amsterdam (our home base).

We started as a user-generated knowledge platform. A humble, generous digital space where contributors shared stories, not conclusions. Over time, A--D grew organically into a network of 70K professionals, built by volunteers committed to amplifying practices overlooked by mainstream narratives. Over the years, more than 100 volunteers have contributed their expertise, time, and a part of themselves to this mission.

Our old website before upgraded to our current version. The upgrade was made possible by 267 awesome backers of our 2019 crowdfunding campaign.

In 2016, we launched the Global Challenge to scale community-led architecture. We mobilised care, expertise, solidarity, and visibility beyond just funding. From this emerged Do-it-Together (DiT): an ethos rooted in shared power, collective decision-making, and the deep knowledge held by communities themselves. DiT challenges old binaries — expert vs. non-expert, designer vs. user — showing that meaningful architecture grows from “we,” not “me.”

Media press on 'Do-it-Together Architecture' on Archdaily (left), El Pais (middle), Architectenweb (Right).

Yet, as we matured, we faced a world increasingly governed by metrics. Global finance and attention still orbit the formal, investment-ready 10%, leaving the remaining 90%. Those working quietly with local wisdom and resilience remain largely unseen. And yet, they often hold the most actionable solutions to climate resilience and sustainable community economies. Their invisibility is not a lack of value, but a consequence of how value is perceived.

This is why A--D is transitioning.

We are evolving into a collaborative Learning Platform — a pedagogical and relational space for reimagining how architecture is funded, supported, and realised, as a regenerative, not extractive practice.

What remains is our commitment to nurture an ecosystem where aligned funders, practitioners, educators, and communities can recognise one another, exchange knowledge, and move together as a coordinated Do-it-Together movement.

What changes is the vessel that supports this collaborative ecosystem:

/// From a broad network to Community and Mentoring Circles/ 

Creating pedagogical and relational spaces where siloed actors can connect, align values, and nurture place-based Do-it-Together (DiT) practices.

/// From static case studies to Research and Living Stories/ 

Developing new ways of seeing, valuing, and narrating DiT approaches that transcend conventional frames.

/// From scattered efforts to a coherent Impact Framework/

Researching and designing a framework that presents both data and living evidence that funders can trust.

This next chapter is bold — and it can only succeed if we Do-it-Together.

If you share our values and believe in fostering regenerative, collaborative architecture, we invite you to get in touch and help shape an ecosystem that enables meaningful change for us all.