Focus on Design and Global Practice

by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

Summary: Cameron Sinclair, cofounder of Architecture for Humanity, speaks to AIArchitect Contributing Editor Michael J. Crosbie, AIA. Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofit that offers design services to communities in need.

In this week’s podcast, “Focus on Design and Global Practice,” Cameron Sinclair speaks about Architecture for Humanity and its global projects in areas of poverty, most recently in the inner cities along the Gulf Coast. He describes the context of his organization’s work in terms of economic and social conditions. He points to projects in India, due to its enormous growth, and in the United Sates, specifically some areas of Baltimore, as areas of neglect that have presented opportunities for architects. Sinclair talks about a village in Sri Lanka that was rebuilt, post-tsunami, as a remarkable experience. He says his post-Katrina disaster relief work taught his organization pivotal lessons and solutions in social architecture.

Sinclair also has developed an open-source software that allows a nonprofit designer to maintain copyright. The organization has applied the concept using a licensing exam on physical structures and the development of the open architecture network Web site that invites architects to share drawings. He addresses his organization’s opportunities for architects of all ages and how they can improve communities. With 45 projects on the books in 12 countries, he talks about how listeners can get involved.