"After training as an architect, Cameron Sinclair (then age 24) joined Kate Stohr to found Architecture for Humanity, a nonprofit that helps architects apply their skills to humanitarian efforts. Starting with just $700 and a simple web site in 1999, AFH has grown into an international hub for humanitarian design, offering innovative solutions to housing problems in all corners of the globe.
Whether rebuilding earthquake-ravaged Bam in Iran, designing a soccer field doubling as an HIV/AIDS clinic in Africa, housing refugees on the Afghan border, or helping Katrina victims rebuild, Architecture for Humanity works by Sinclair's mantra: "Design like you give a damn." (Sinclair and Stohr cowrote a book by the same name, released in 2006.)
A regular contributor to the sustainability blog Worldchanging.com, Sinclair is now working on the Open Architecture Network, born from the wish he made when he accepted the 2006 TED Prize: to build a global, open-source network where architects, governments and NGOs can share and implement design plans to house the world."
" Benefits of Community Design
We approach design from the ground up. Design is the expression of a community’s vision for change. The design process encourages community groups to set goals and work together to achieve them. By celebrating small victories along the way, community members are empowered to become stakeholders and to pursue larger long-term goals.
Benefits of Community Design:
- Environmentally and culturally appropriate design.
- The removal of typical barriers to participation, such as formal hearings or inconvenient locations.
- Communication between different sectors and interests in the community, including government organizations, religious organizations and individuals.
- The ability to convey complex ideas simply to expert and non-expert participants alike through the use of graphics and 3-D models and other visual presentations.
- The prioritization of issues by and with those most affected by the decision-making process
- Opportunities for skills training and advancement.
- Greater local capacity for decision-making and economic development."
story links:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/speakers/cameron_sinclair.html
http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/services/community
ted talk:
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/cameron_sinclair_on_open_source_architecture.html
image links:
http://www.amazon.com/Design-Like-Give-Damn-Architectural/dp/1933045256/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9059986-5862302?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174325359&sr=8-1
http://architectureforhumanity.org/node/846
