Architects Hawaii Ltd. has joined the national Public Architecture program under which it will pledge a minimum of 1 percent of its billable hours to pro bono service.

Architects Hawaii has already offered its services to the Salvation Army for its Family Treatment Services Facility in Manoa. AHL has 50 staff members participating in the program and said it plans to donate 1,000 hours annually.

The 1 percent program was launched by Public Architecture in 2005 with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. A total of 300 architecture firms across the nation have pledged their design services to this initiative.