Nonprofits fill a need in their community by providing resources to better equip marginalized people, a practice that can be used in architecture as well. This architectural nonprofit approach was being practiced in Italy after World War II by Pier Luigi Nervi. The Italian Navy commissioned Pier Luigi Nervi to design ships using concrete instead of steel. Pier Luigi Nervi was able to help a community struggling to find work and give them new skill sets to help complete his ship project. The design-build team who constructed the ships, and later many of his buildings, were unfamiliar with architecture. The laborers were a part of a large community in need of civic engagement with no jobs or no construction expertise. While working with Nervi the laborers learned architectural skills and performed tasks that involved simple assembly using the resources available to them assigned by Nervi. The design process and construction of the ships were simplified into easily understandable instructions, therefore accessible to individuals of any academic level of background. A report from 1971 stated, "Ferro-cement for boatbuilding has only recently gained momentum, however, it has been predicted that most new fishing vessels constructed in the U.S. will soon be made of this material. In particular low cost, low demand for skilled labor, and rapidity of construction are its major attractions in the U.S." Studying historical site designs, we observe how communities themselves are the architects. Nervi's innovative use of available labor, skills, and materials pushed boundaries and led to the development of new technology. He used the resources available to provide leadership in architecture that propelled into economic growth and strengthened the framework of his community. 

Penna Foundation, the philanthropic division of Penna Cement, is a privately owned cement company in India. Penna Foundation asked the architecture firm Collective Project to create a design for the renovation of three deteriorating schools to be used by and made for the children of the company's factory employees. The Collective Project is an architecture firm that sees value in incorporating nonprofit work to the projects they choose to move forward with and understands social projects within their community advance their work. This Penna Foundation project was able to become a reality from a government's corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandate, which requires businesses of a specific size to allocate a portion of their income to public projects. These types of initiatives are beneficial in helping underserved communities acquire assistance to attain equity. After observing Collective Project's work turning an abandoned watch factory into a Montessori school, they realized, "The clients regarded design as not only a way to change the quality of education for the students but also to attract better teachers. That, to us, seemed like an extraordinary vision...They never asked us to cut corners We just had to find ways to divide the work into different phases to fit the budget allocated every year." This civic architecture approach created access to not just higher levels of education but also provided well thought out and highly efficient buildings to a secluded manufacturing village. Bringing innovation and a sense of community belonging is precisely what social architecture does—helping individuals with little to no access to resources to afford the projects that they also deserve to have. The project's materiality was firmly based on sustainable values from the beginning. The school was constructed by local workers. Tadipatri, the closest town, served as a processing center for Kadappa stone. Waste material from these units was used for flooring.