10 Myths About Architecture for Humanity
10 Myths About Architecture for Humanity
1. We are just individual designers
While we do have a large number of individuals looking to donate their services, we work with small, medium and large firms from around the world. To date over 85 firms have taken part in our projects and over 800 (from 53 countries) have been apart of our design competitions. Most recently we had an entire family of engineers (Father, mother, son and daughter) all working on a project together.
2. We are just architects
The reason we are called ‘Architecture for Humanity’ and not ‘Architects for Humanity’ is that we believe that architecture embraces all facets of building in the environment and this encompasses the entire umbrella of design world. From architects, landscape architects, interior designers, industrial designers, engineers and even the occasional elephant migration expert we believe that you can make lasting change by bringing together all the stakeholders as partners in the design and building process. We also feel our clients, and building end users, should be the designers of their own destiny and we strongly encourage them to participate in the design and development phase.
In our headquarters we’ve had writers, artists, slam poets, urban activists, natural building experts, DJs and former professional snowboarders all apart of the merry band of in house staff.
Learn how you can get involved
3. We just do design work.
While we push design as an incredible medium for innovative thinking and development, we understand that change doesn’t happen when it is left on paper. To implement these creative solutions we are involved in a huge range of things in order to see them realized. This includes community outreach, contract development, construction documentation, project administration, fundraising, post-construction assessments… the list goes on.
4. We only work outside of the United States
We have garnered a lot of recognition in the media for work outside of the United States however we’ve done a number of projects both on the Gulf Coast, on Native American reservations and, partnering with local chapters, a number of inner-city projects. In 2009 we will host an international design competition focused on educational facilities in the US that will culminate in the construction of the winning design.
5. We only do sustainable post-disaster reconstruction
After 2005 our organization became heavily associated with rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and the South Asia Tsunami. We are immensely proud of the work done to support the communities affected by these disasters but our portfolio reaches well beyond post-disaster reconstruction. We’ve been involved in school building and health clinics in Tanzania, affordable housing on the Hopi Nation and South Africa as well as youth and community centers in Kenya and India. In the next few years we will be working on youth sports facilities in Rwanda, Ghana and Brazil as well as orphanages in Uganda and school building in Liberia and the Ivory Coast.
See our projects
6. We work only with local community organizations
While we always partner with a local group or individual on the ground, many of our projects include larger NGOs or Funding Agents. To date we’ve worked with groups like UN Habitat, Habitat for Humanity, UNICEF, Oprahs’ Angel Network and Warchild USA.
7. Brad Pitt works for us.
Since Hurricane Katrina people keep phoning our office looking for Brad Pitt. At first we found it amusing but the truth is that he does not work with us nor is he hanging out by the coffee machine. We do know he likes our book, Design Like You Give A Damn, so we know he’s got good taste. If he’d like to work with us, he’ll have to apply just like everyone else.
8. We do urban planning.
Our folks do impact the urban landscape however we try to stay away from mega-scale urban development or master planning scenarios. We tend to work on a more localized level, whether it be block by block or within a particular area, or on a single site. We believe that large scale planning is best handled by local planning departments. However we're happy to assist them with facets of their work.
9. We are ‘saving the planet’
Some folks really like what we do. We really love it when designers who volunteer or work with us get the props they deserve but… …we are not saving the planet. We're just doing our part to make it better. Our role is to develop build-able solutions for all the amazing organizations and individuals who are out there every day trying to make a huge difference in their communities. We feel fortunate to be apart of this process and are honored to be able to work alongside them. Perhaps one day we could get the 1,000,000+ design professionals to collectively work pro-bono, then we might have a shot at changing the planet for the better.
10. We expect our communities to build the buildings
Many of the structures we are involved in are built by community members. While they are paid for their services we do not expect them to build. We understand that development is a tool for financial stability and we use the construction process not only to keep funding in the community but, when possible, we train locals with new skills to elevate the standards of construction and to generate micro-businesses out of the process. In certain cases we help communities form local federations and non-profit entities so they can manage the construction process and streamline the funding of projects.
