The work of Architecture for Humanity design fellow, Susi Platt was recently featured in Four Seasons Magazine:

It is not every day that architects consider elephant migration patterns when they begin work on a new design. But it was a detail London-based architect Susi Jane Platt considered when she led the charge to develop energy efficient outdoor lighting for a remote Sri Lankan village ravaged by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. How else could the village escape the inevitable, namely, that elephants unable to distinguish mudroofed homes from trees would choose them as the perfect place to scratch their colossal bodies, the sheer force of which could raze home after home in a series of resonant thuds?

Today we launched a 30 day concept design challenge for a Youth and Women's Leadership Center nr. Rio. The Winner gets the commission and the building will be built by late summer.

If you are up for the challenge click here for further details and to enter. Fluency in Portuguese and English a requirement.

Update: We were not chosen to be the selected charity. We are a little disappointed as funding would have built selected schools for 800 to 2500 pupils. Fortunately the selected charity was one we admire and respect, Concern Worldwide, and we wish them the best and congratulate them on being selected.

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Last week it was announced that we are one of four finalists eligible for funding from the 2010 Twestival event, set for March next year. The theme is education - which happens to coincide with focus over the next five years.

As everyone (hopefully already) knows, we are one of 24 charities being promoted by Paypal in their Regift the Fruitcake campaign.

If you haven't visited Regift the Fruitcake, donated to an existing fruitcake (such as Cameron's turtleneck fruitcake), or started your own to pass around, then we encourage you to do so now.

Yep, Architecture for Humanity is getting into party mode. What does this mean? Will we turn our models into miniature tinseltown's with bits of recycled "snow"? Will we hang tape measures from the rafters? Sip cocktails and swivel in our swanky new (Thank you, Steelcase) chairs? Come find out.

Holiday Party
Architecture for Humanity and ColLaborate
6pm -9pm Friday December 18, 2009
848 Folsom Street, Ste 201
San Francisco, CA 94965

It's been a rough year. Come in a turtleneck and the first drink is free. Oh wait, all the drinks are free... Well, come anyway.

If you would like us to personally chill your cocktail, please RSVP:
rsvp@architectureforhumanity.org (Let us know if you are bringing guests.)

A special thank you to all the sponsors, donors and collaborators who made this party possible.

It has been a busy twelve months in our office but even more so for our staff in the field. Turning ten this year allowed us a moment of reflection but as Henry Kaiser once said, ”When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.” Therefore we've continued to work tirelessly to design and build stronger and more sustainable communities through the power of thoughtful and innovative architecture. Read More

A July 2006 study sheds light on a major facet of community disinvestment in Chicago’s African-American communities: the lack of grocery stores. The study examines the phenomenon of “food deserts,” described as “communities with little or no access to grocery stores and quality, nutritious food choices.” Roughly one in six Chicago residents lives in a food desert. The Food Desert Caravan is a proposal by Architecture for Humanity-Chicago and consortium of partners for a mobile food store, built in a retrofitted city transit bus, to restore urban food access. Join the conceptual design charrette Saturday, December 5th, at the MacArthur Foundation (140 S. Dearborn, Suite 1700) from 8am-12pm.

Currently the majority of our projects are educational facilities. In the next 12 months schools and youth centers will be built in a dozen countries, allowing thousands of youth access to education and allowing them to better their own lives. With a core team in place at Architecture for Humanity the potential for impact is unlimited.

So we have partnered with Paypal to make giving simple and fun this season - a $20 donation = 1 linear ft of classroom. The more that is donated, the more schools will be built. Find out more here and direct your funds to building better schools for all.

The second part of Samsung's Wow Challenge has been announced, and presents a new opportunity to use your creativity to help Architecture for Humanity win $20,000 for school construction and other humanitarian architecture projects.

The the theme of the second challenge is to "express yourself with color" by uploading photos of yourself against a colorful backdrop, and use the resulting library of photos contributed by the teams to create a pixelated work of art.

Challenge #1 is drawing to a close and Architecture for Humanity is in the lead with 69% of the votes! Thank you to all who submitted the awesome shadow pictures and voted. For those of you that want to get involved, it's not too late. Join team Architecture for Humanity. Also, stay tuned for Ze's announcement of Challenge #2 tomorrow (can't wait to hear what he has up his sleeve). Funds raised will be used to improve schools around the world.

A bold and ambitious public works plan for the Colombian city of Medellín that helped revitalize its poorest neighborhoods and transform what was considered the deadliest city in the world into a vibrant, urban hub is the winner of the 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize. The winner and finalists were recognized at the IdeaFestival in Louisville, Kentucky - view the ceremony online.

Yesterday we launched the final 'do a latte good' auction for 2009. Here is your chance to donate to Architecture for Humanity and have a one on one coffee with one of our clients, supporters or employees. It's simple, you bid and 100% of the proceeds go towards improving the living standards of communities around the world.
Until November 12th you can bid on:

Join Architecture for Humanity in supporting this exclusive Bay Area screening of the documentary 'Visual Acoustics' at the Lumiere Theatre, San Francisco - opening this Friday Nov 6th, for one week only; there is a panel discussion after the Saturday 7:00pm screening. Also showing at Shattuck Cinema, Berkeley.

Our good friend Ze Frank has organized a multi-player challenge to raise money for two non-profits, The Nature Conservancy and us (yay). Watch the video and you'll find out how to join in and help us raise much needed funds for improving the state of schools around the world.

Join team Architecture for Humanity

At 2pm local time the Skateistan team opened Kabul's largest indoor sports facility and skate park. The opening commenced with short greetings from dignitaries and followed with a skateboarding demonstration by Afghan girls and boys together with internationally renowned professional skateboarders on the newly built ramps and obstacles.

Congrats to Ollie and the entire Skateistan team for this monumental achievement. Special thanks to Nike and the Gamechangers initiative for helping fund the center.

This month heralded the end of our four years of working in Biloxi. The final home, the Porch Dog by Marlon Blackwell is now complete.

We began work on the Gulf Coast in October 2005 and have implemented, supported and funded projects in East Biloxi, Waveland, Bay St. Louis and New Orleans. In the coming weeks we will write up a full report (and photos by the amazing Iwan Baan) of all the impact made by the organization but most importantly the dozens of firms and thousands of volunteers whose dedication and hard work help build back the coast.

The online auction ended last night and netted over $2500 for Architecture for Humanity. Funds will be put into our expanding design fellowships programs, allowing us to provide more professional design services to communities in need around the world.

A 2006 world report about the buildup of plastics in our oceans marked an epiphany for Adventure Ecology founder David de Rothschild and the beginning of a journey to raise awareness about the environmental dangers facing our Oceans.

It gave birth to the Plastiki, a 60ft catamaran almost entirely from reclaimed plastic water bottles and self-reinforced PET, a uniquely recyclable and relatively unexplored material.

Tonight Architecture for Humanity designer Nathaniel Corum will talk at Plastiki Mission Control (Pier 45) about our involvement to help shelter this motley crew on their voyage.

Price: Free with RSVP to Missioncontrolsf@theplastiki.com

Read more at Dwell.com

During the early years of the organization, armed just a laptop and a cell phone, some of our volunteers were alarmed by the number of coffees I'd have per day. On average around 5-7 coffee. What they didn't realize is that for every $5 coffee meeting I'd leave with a $25-50 donation. This kept us going for years!

So, as we launch our capital building campaign -- for our grassroots supporters we are going back to basics and doing a ‘coffee with’ campaign called 'Do A Latte Good'.

It's simple, starting 5pm PST you can bid on coffee with an Architecture for Humanity supporter, designer or client and in exchange they‘ll put funds towards improving the living standards of communities around the world.

From Oct 12th to the 22nd you can bid on the following Architecture for Humanity friends;

Despite the global economic downturn we are bucking the trend and looking to hire three full time positions and five design fellowships. Currently we are looking for;

Regional Design Director, Cape Town, South Africa

CFO, San Francisco, USA

Development Director, San Francisco, USA

Design fellowship positions in Brazil, Haiti, South Africa and the United States

Apply now to help build a better world.

It's been a tough week in Asia. In the space of a week the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia were ravaged by a typhoon; Samoa was affected by a tsunami and Indonesia was struck by an earthquake. In the space of seven days more than 2 million people were displaced.

While damage from the tsunami was localized and the earthquake was located in areas with on the ground organizations like Build Change, we have evaluated that the biggest impact we can make is in responding to those affected by Typhoon Ketsana.

We are starting an appeal for transitional and permanent reconstruction of areas affected. Please note this funding will be focused on longer term recovery not emergency relief. Donate via Network for Good or Paypal (login not required to make a donation).

Today a 8.3 earthquake struck close to the island of Samoa, generating a 10-15 ft tsunami. The wave hit the island early in the morning causing 3 deaths and dozens of injuries. One town was flattened and the capital was reported to have flooded. video

As this is a localized natural disaster we will only respond if called upon.

Update 4: The island of Samoa took the most damage from the Tuesday morning tsunami. The current number of fatalities in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga has reached 92. Hundreds have been left without shelter.

Transformative Urban Public Works Plan for Medellín,Colombia Wins 2009 Curry Stone Design Prize for Emerging Humanitarian Innovation. Alejandro Echeverri, Medellín’s former director of urban projects, and Sergio Fajardo, the city’s former mayor, will share the $100,000 award, announced today at the IdeaFestival in Louisville, Kentucky. See this transformative project and the other finalists on http://bit.ly/CSDPF

This Thursday co-founder Kate Stohr will join Reema Nanavaty, Fmr. President Mary Robinson and Duke Energy CEO James Rogers on a panel at the Clinton Global Initiative. Moderated by Michele Norris, host of NPRs' All Things Considered, the quartet will focus on job creation and smart growth out both economic and humanitarian crisis. Ms. Stohr will discuss Architecture for Humanitys' work in rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina and 'urban acupuncture' in areas of great need.

In recognition of President Obama’s call for the nation’s first official September 11 Day of Service and Remembrance, thousands of service projects will take place across the nation to remember the victims of 9/11 and engage more Americans in community service. Get involved!

Design an exhibition for the classroom of the future
For the past year Architecture for Humanity has run an international design competition to design and build sustainable, green classrooms of the future. Over 400 design teams partnered with schools in more than 65 countries and this fall we hope to assemble a book and exhibition of winning and selected entries. Starting in late August the exhibition will travel around the United States as well as Denmark, Japan, Italy and Singapore. For more information email challenge@architectureforhumanity.org

Join Up2Us in Washington, D.C. to help build a community soccer field

We're proud to announce the winners of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge. Congratulations to all the designers and students who reached out to schools in their community and participated in this truly global initiative.

And the winners are...

Our intrepid designer Greg Elsner is busy collaborating with community members and students of the Mahiga school to develop Kenyas' first off the grid net positive basketball court. Here is the latest design;

All local materials and utilizing local construction technologies. The facility will collect all the rainwater needed for the school as well as generate energy through a solar collection system. The school is featured in the upcoming documentary "One Peace At A Time".

Taken just a few moments ago, the children of the Teton Valley Community School find out they are the winners of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge.

The school will be awarded $50,000 to help build the winning design and Section Eight [design], the winning design team, will receive $5,000 to help them implement their solution.

In less than an hour (9am MDT) we join up with Section Eight Design and teachers of the Teton Valley Community School in Victor, Idaho to announce the winner of the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge. In the meantime here are a few words from award winners Emma and Nathan;

The fundraiser for Cyclone Nargis rebuilding in Myanmar last Saturday was a great success. I am very excited to have been a part of the event and I am honored that my closest friends and family were able to celebrate my 21st birthday while supporting a cause about which I am deeply passionate. The cyclone in Myanmar created so much destruction, much of which has yet to have been rebuilt. It was important to me to celebrate my birthday in a way that would contribute to the work that I have been doing with Architecture for Humanity.

AIASF is hosting its sixth annual Architecture and the City festival, this year’s festival promises several new and exciting ways to engage in conversation about our city. The festival theme Everyday, Design celebrates the many smart, ingenious and unexpected ways design impacts our daily lives, unveiling the unseen hand of the designer in everything from civic and institutional works to landscaping and residential design. Programs promise to explore the nuanced ways architects and designers thoughtfully impact our communities and reflect ever-important issues of sustainability.

The complete program listing is available here.

One of our amazing design fellows started his first day dealing with Cyclone Nargis as it hit Burma. We began working on the ground with an incredible team and they are currently working to restore civic buildings and build health and educational facilities.

This weekend Anand turns 21 and for his big bash all his friends are raising funds to build a health clinic for 2000+ people in Burma. We need to raise $10,000, so help celebrate Anands' big day by donating $10 or more to help bring life saving health care to those how need it most.

Last week we traveled with Yele Haiti down to Haiti to see if we could help to provide professional design and building services for a couple of projects on the ground. What I found was a country very different from what was reported in the media or gleaned from You Tube. However, it is still a world away from the three and a half hour plane ride from New York City.

Today Architecture for Humanity co-founders joined designers, teachers and administration officials at a luncheon at the White House to honor the 2009 National Design Award winners and finalists. Our organization had received the Patron Award in 2008 but we had been notified after the 2008 White House event and invited this year to be recognized. The award is a great honor and we hope that it helps to push more socially responsible and collaborative design into the mainstream.

Click here to view video of the speech by first lady Michelle Obama.

Anand's Surprise Birthday/Myanmar Clinic Fundraiser

Saturday, August 8, 2009
7p-10p
Velo Rouge Cafe
798 Arguello St (@ McAllister)

This is the first fund raising drive of this cause since 2008 - Let's build a clinic for Burmese villagers.
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Architecture for Humanity is one of the few groups currently working in Myanmar. Our talented design team has been restoring and rebuilding coastal villages affected by last years' cyclone.

Anand Sheth, one of our SF design fellows, worked on our post-Cyclone Nargis campaign last year. On August 8th, his friends are holding a surprise 21st birthday party and have asked everyone coming to bring donations for this project, instead of presents.

The ultimate goal of this fundraiser is to raise $10,000 and we can build a safe medical clinic for 2000 people. Read more at: http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/myanmar

Change doesn’t happen by chance, it happens by design.

Social Designer strives to spark new thinking about the issues that matter most by encouraging the design community to create fun, socially-relevant graphics for tees, totes and other goods. We do this both by holding weekly design competitions to create products that support meaningful causes — all winning designs are available for purchase — and by selling goods with a strong social or environmental value.

It’s easy to do something good -- for every product sold, a percentage of profits will be donated to our charity, non-profit or NGO partners. Social Designer is proud to partner with Architecture for Humanity – so click here and buy a tee today that directly supports our cause.

Dear Architecture For Humanity,

I first met Kate Stohr in one of the early planning meetings for the Open Architecture Network (OAN). That was October 2006. I was in my first semester at Presidio School of Management studying sustainable business, while also working at Sun Microsystems as an Architect (not the licensed kind that designs buildings, but the virtual geeky kind that works on Internet systems designs). It was through Sun's support of Cameron's 2006 TED Prize wish that I got connected to this project and Kate was my first contact with AFH. It was immediately clear to me that Kate and the rest of AFH were doing something relevant, unique, and valuable, so I was excited to help in any way I could.

There is less than two weeks until the final round of the jury and After Ed TV has released the third and final episode of School Redesign. Check it out.

Laura Allen of Greywater Guerrilas stopped by today to give us the lowdown on recycling greywater and the new draft permitting rules on the table in California to encourage rainwater harvesting and catchment systems. She offered some practical advice on installing residential greywater systems (three-way valve, anyone?) and some background on commercial systems. We'll never look at a toilet or washing machine the same way again.

Interested in installing your own greywater system or want to learn more, visit:

www.greywaterguerrillas.com

Check out their book: Dam Nation: Dispatches from the Water Underground

From designing recycling containers to rebuilding a school campus for women in Rwanda, the chapters are doing amazing work around the world. Here are a few examples of AFH chapter projects:

AFHNY: On May 9th 2009, AFHNY joined architects, designers, artists, and assorted kite lovers converged on Manhattan’s Riverside Park for the first annual FlyNY, an international kite design competition. The top three designs will be featured in an article in the June issue of Metropolis magazine, and all winning kites will be auctioned off at a party in Chelsea on May 28th, with proceeds benefiting Architecture for Humanity.

Got the post challenge blues? Let's hack Google!

In honor of Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday, Google SketchUp partnered with The Guggenheim Museum to launch a competition to design a simple shelter. By using Google SketchUp and Google Earth you can choose any site and create any basic dwelling (without water, gas or electricity). While it is a great creative initiative, it could go one step further by challenging participants to design with purpose.

Designers Nathaniel Corum and Michael Jones continue their journey to design the cabin for the Plastiki, a 60-foot catamaran made of 12,000 plastic bottles and other recycled materials, that will sail from San Francisco to Sydney later this year.

Today Urban Re:Vision announced three finalists for what might become the most sustainable city block in America. Situated in the heart of Dallas three teams were selected from hundreds of entries as part of the
Revision Dallas design competition

Ideas integrated local materials, vegetated screens to green ways, shaping how people will live and work in the future. Finalists include former Siyathemba finalist MOOV with Atelier Data of Lisbon, Portugal; David Baker and Partners Architects and Fletcher Studio (with renderings support from our friends at Medized) and the firm Little from Charlotte, North Carolina

Check out the designs here

In celebration of our tenth anniversary, Architecture for Humanity is embarking on a fundraising campaign to support our chapters, grow the Open Architecture Network and bring critical design services to more communities in need. With your support, we can harness the power of the last ten years to make an even greater impact in the next ten years. Join us.

	Donate $10 a month and help us bring good design to communities in need for another 10 years.

Architecture for Humanity and Nike are proud to announce the first recipient of the GAMECHANGERS funding to Skateistan, based in Kabul, Afghanistan.  Afghanistan’s first co-educational skateboarding school was established in May 2007 and offers free skateboarding classes for all youth in Kabul through a team of dedicated international and Afghan volunteers. With funding assistance from a range of funding sources the program is about to build Kabul’s first indoor skate park at Ghazi Stadium.