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At Dwell on Design this year (June 22-23, Los Angeles), we're hosting a free consultation booth where professional architects will be answering any and all design questions.

Your headaches, dreams, questions, and even your blueprints are welcome to a free dose of architectural advice from Dwell on Design and Architecture for Humanity. Sessions are free and available on a first-come basis, booked online, and last 25 minutes each.

Keyword: Resilience. Our greatest challenge moving forward is bringing our international network in touch with the skills and resources they'll need for a sustainable (and resilient) future.

We're taking architecture to the street, the steering committee, the city hall and the capitol – because it will take a range of approaches, skills, and even generations, to see positive change happen where it's most needed. An informed community is one thing - an empowered community is quite another, and we're building tools and networks for whatever interventions are needed to make our built environment worthy of the 21st Century.

Find out how this gets done in this month's newsletter – and Thank You for helping make it all happen.

Don't miss us the weekend of June 21, in Denver or Los Angeles (but good luck catching us both places)

Conference season swings into full gear over the next couple months. We'd like to share a couple opportunities to mingle with professional peers, attend some insightful discussions and get a dose of Architecture for Humanity in-person, at Dwell in Design in Los Angeles (June 21-23) and at the American Institute of Architects National Convention in Denver (June 20-22).

The 2013 winner of the Pilosio’s International “Building the Peace” Award is Cameron Sinclair and Architecture for Humanity. The award is being given for the organizations numerous actions to support reconstruction in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. To date Architecture for Humanity has helped build schools and clinics for more than 70,000 people and has helped to plan over 2500 homes.

The presentation of the award will take place as part of a dedicated event to be held on Wednesday, April 17th, at the Bauma trade fair in Munich, the leading international exhibition for the construction world.

IF YOU ever wondered what a day at HQ was like, a volunteer undertook an independent time lapse project. It's certainly no Day in the Field, but we're excited to slave away at our computers :) in our beautiful new office space at 695 Minna in San Francisco (which we're arranging to celebrate in April).

Program coordination and administration are no easy tasks - thanks to everyone at HQ for sharing a slice of life as context for all our conversations.

This year we repeat our homage to public interest design in holiday song format, highlighting 12 great moments of humanity and architecture, for 12 days. Enjoy!

"The median age in Ghana is 21; 40% of the country is under 15." The Mmofra Foundation can readily count off the reasons why creating urban play spaces is so important. The country is rapidly urbanizing, and there are no public spaces for children outside of school grounds. There is no culture of public green space utilization in Accra – whose metropolitan area is home to 2 million people.

"As a result, children create their own play spaces, often in unsafe or unsuitable environments," Mmofra states. What's more, Ghana's education system is based on rote-memorization, leaving "few opportunities for imagination and creativity."

Mmofra's aim is no smaller than changing the paradigm of public space in Ghana.

Last summer the organization invited local and international experts to convene in Accra and charrette a park for the Dzorwulu neighborhood that would become a foundation for recreational reform. Two of our veteran design fellows joined the discussion.

It's been a busy month. Between a very severe storm, an inspiring design conference, an equally touching telethon and a Giving Awards nomination, Headquarters has been working hard to make sure each piece gets the attention it deserves. That means we're asking a bit more from our fans to help us, in some simple ways.

For the first annual Giving Tuesday, we'd like to engage in a little "donation orientation," starting with what's known as "Employer Matching." Many people don't realize that their company or employer has a policy to "match" the charitable donations of their employees, oftentimes doubling the impact of a donation with only a little bit of follow up. In fact, over 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching gift programs to their employees!

Even better news: online databases track matching policies for hundreds of organizations, and a simple search pulls up exactly what your company's policy is, and the (oftentimes painless) process to see it through.

We'll take you through our online widget that does just that, from our Donate Form page. What the process lacks in sexiness it more than makes up for with accessibility and impact!

Today we learned of the passing of a great architect, Lebbeus Woods.

Lebbeus was a large than life character. A thoughtful curmudgeon, incredible visionary and one of the last great draftsmen in the industry. We were lucky to have his support over the years and he always made time to get involved in discussing the future of the profession. More importantly, I considered him a friend.

In 1999 he was the first well known architect to personally reach out to us. It was a huge honor for me as his book "Anarchitecture: Architecture is a political act" was a defining book in the conception of Architecture for Humanity. Opening with the same line as he always said "what can I do for you?", he quickly became a trusted mentor.

We've grown accustomed to very special things coming through our door. Earlier this year we were honored by the near-daily influx of jaw-dropping sketches the I Love Architecture campaign. Further into the summer, an artist approached us to render, in watercolor, a couple of our projects in Kenya. Program manager T. Luke Young (the "." is silent) collaborated with the artist to produce two stunning pieces – that we're aiming to reproduce for living rooms.

Online goodness activators Goodnet announced today their Top 7 Skilled Volunteer organizations and Architecture for Humanity landed at number four!

We couldn't be more grateful to all the people who have made our volunteer program such a success, not the least of whom being Tomika Anderson, who joined us late last year as Volunteer Coordinator and has subsequently vaulted our program into the stratosphere. (No thanks, Energy Drink, we won't be needing your weather balloon.)

Artist Scott Erstad volunteered his incredible talent to paint watercolors of Architecture for Humanity projects SIDAREC Technology and Media Lab and the Sauti Kuu Banda and Community Center in Kenya. These renderings show completed works coupled with the projected future development of each initiative. We are still seeking partners to raise the necessary resources to complete the final phase of each project. Please join us!

In the past weeks humanitarian design was really put to the test. Two years after historic flooding struck Pakistan, a monsoon descended on the recovering region. Among the villages hardest hit was Khairpur, focus of a Karachi Chapter reconstruction program led by architect Yasmeen Lari and The Heritage Foundation. The bamboo-based structures from this program sustained little damage. We're thrilled to see the work and methods of structural, community-based design proving themselves, and are confident they can inform any rebuilding the neighbors might consider undertaking after the storm.

Between the Venice Biennale, a burgeoning response in the Philippines and our upcoming humanitarian design conference, we've been keeping busy. Check out the details below and please join us!

Architect, headquarters volunteer and DLYGAD[2] featured designer Pouya Khazaeli recently sent us some images of design/build charrettes and workshops in Mashhad, Iran, and Grenoble, France, led by his team of Tehrani professionals and the guiding principles of Architecture for Humanity.

Consistent with his contribution to the latest Damn volume, Khazaeli pursues rapid emergency shelters for those with the very fewest resources...and is not satisfied with just one formulation.

Both charrettes explore reed an earth construction, built on flexible, small tree limbs and allowing for a bit of geometric poetry. In the case of the CRAterre event in Grenoble, the structure was devised for users of a...smaller scale. Take a look.

On June 21, we were thrilled to witness the largest opening ceremony to an Architecture for Humanity project. At around 3PM beneath a bustling bridge, thousands of young skateboarders poured into what's being praised as "the Best Skate Park in Manhattan," providing a revitalized space to an underserved community.

Software Donation Assists Community-focused Design and Construction Projects Around the World

Architecture for Humanity announced today that Autodesk has donated software valued at nearly $750,000 to assist with the organization’s rebuilding efforts in more than two dozen communities around the world. The software will help those that fell victim to natural disasters including the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the Haiti earthquake, floods in South America, and other calamities.

“Rebuilding infrastructure efficiently and effectively following a natural disaster like the Japan earthquake and tsunami requires state of the art design tools,” said Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk senior vice president of reputation, consumer and education. “As a long-time supporter of Architecture for Humanity, we are pleased that Autodesk’s design software is able to assist them in this effort.”

Reporting by HQ intern Julie Pedke. Originally appeared on Students Rebuild Haiti blog

On the beautiful Clark Kerr Campus in Berkeley, California, educators and designers from all over the world gathered recently for the first-ever International Working Forum OnDesign for Children, sponsored by the World Forum Foundation. Our team from Students Rebuild and Architecture for Humanity participated in the conference, leading a design charrette and panel discussions about our work with young people in Haiti, Japan, Kenya, and beyond.

An impressively interdisciplinary group of professionals will be meeting this week to discuss issues related to design of optimal buildings for children. June 27-29 in Berkeley, California, architects, landscape designers, early childhood educators, real estate developers, local and national governments, and the greater public are convening to share their collective wisdom.

This year's International Working Forum will challenge views on model building design for children, present state of the art building reviews from around the world, provide opportunities for deep discussion of approaches to incorporate the latest design features into children’s buildings and spaces, and establish an international network under the Global Collaborative OnDesign for Children.

We're thrilled to announce the I Love Architecture Charity Auction, featuring original hand-drawn and signed sketches from over 50 of the world's greatest architects and designers! When: June 19-29 Where: eBay Preview: sketches.

June sees some new faces and some new places for our work around the world. Spend a moment to meet our new staff.

Summer is construction season, and we're seeing projects jump out of construction documents and into the built dimension in rapid succession. At the HQ Project Board review last Wednesday, the program managers enumerated upcoming construction milestones from our various job sites around the world. Here are the highlights:

Ribbon cutting

The Sauti Kuu Banda and community center in rural Alego, Kenya, officially opened its doors June 7. We're excited to see the report back on the ceremony and the first programs launch to broaden the horizons of the local youth! Many many thanks to all our collaborators and to design fellows Diego Collazos, Triz Muñoz and Matthew Hughes.

Happy Spring. The ground's finally thawing in Tohoku, and kids are taking pride and slide (tackles) in recovered public spaces. As you draw up plans for a Spring weekend, we've got 5 things you may want to to work into your agenda.

The American Institute of Architects 2012 Convention is in full swing right now and through the weekend - and Architecture for Humanity is posed to meet, greet and spread the love of architecture.

Booth #363 is hard to miss. The deep blue enclosure designed by Vancouver's Molo Studio curates our Spring campaign - see sketches donated by your favorite architects (details below), pick up a Cameron-signed copy of Design Like You Give a Damn [2], and net an advanced print of our "I Love Architecture" tee shirts.

If you're attending the Convention this weekend, find us "on the floor" - booth details:

It's hard to believe we're thirteen years old this month. Harder still to believe we don't count our age in truckloads of coffee consumed. So, depending on how you count, we're either just entering the awkward teenage years, or are a centenarian. It usually feels like both. There's plenty seeing us into adolescence.

It's hard to believe our organization is thirteen years old today - harder still to believe we don't count our age in truckloads of coffee consumed. So we're either just entering the awkward teenage years, or are a centenarian - it usually feels like both.

The first Design Open Mic of the month is reserved for internal review of all active projects (and some operations stuff). The meeting takes about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and I punch up a good six pages of notes. Here I'll spare the volume and stick to hightlights. Feel free to stop into 848 in April for the unabridged version. #iLoveArchitecture

We Love Architecture, and it's about time we get on a newly-completed rooftop, cup our hands to our mouths and let the world know. Or do the symbolic equivalent online.

First off we have to say a huge thank you to all our end of year donors. Not only did we hit our end of year match but we raised over $100,000 for building a better environment for communities around the world. We are still receiving some end of year donations but to all of you who gave, thank you.

In homage to one of our favorite holiday tunes, below are 12 projects that convey the intention and enthusiasm that infuses our work. Hopefully they'll make you smile for the next 12 days and also inspire you to Sponsor a Day of Design.