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Architecture for good
Via Treehugger, architect Cameron Sinclair writes in the Huffington Post :
For the past twenty years the voice of the architecture profession has mainly been drowned out by the computer generated sky-piercing towers of luxury. Year after year the biggest names in architecture tried to out do each other in what is technically feasible...This constant craving to create jewels of desire in the urban fabric left the general public wondering what on earth we do. Now, with the global economy in tailspin, these exercises in object making have come to a crashing halt. For many of us, we couldn't be more thankful...For those of us that work in this arena we are being swamped with requests for help from the camps in the eastern Congo to the hoovervilles in southern California. The desire for well built, sustainable structures is immense and young professionals seeking meaning are finding themselves drawn to providing their expertise to these communities. There is immense opportunity for architects to work in the service of humanity rather awkwardly trying to define it or worse impose a solution on it.
Sinclair was involved in what appears to have been a fascinating debate on the 'ethics' of architecture in London recently. Sinclair is a founder of Architecture For Humanity, a non-profit group that describes itself as "building a more sustainable future through the power of professional design". The group says it has access to a network of over 40,000 professionals willing to "lend time to help those who would not otherwise afford their services", and claims that 10,000 people directly benefit from its built structures every year.
The group lists amongst its aims:
• Alleviating poverty and providing access to water, sanitation, power and essential services
• Reducing the footprint of the built environment and addressing climate change
• Bringing safe shelter to communities prone to disaster and displaced populations
• Rebuilding community and creating neutral spaces for dialogue in post-conflict areas
• Mitigating the effects of rapid urbanization in unplanned settlements
• Creating spaces to meet the needs of those with disabilities and other at-risk populations