Causes: Disaster Aid, Human Services

Mission:

Architecture for Humanity is a nonprofitdesign services firm founded in 1999. By tapping a network of more than 40,000professionals willing to lend time and expertise to help those who would nototherwise be able to afford their services, we bring design, construction anddevelopment services where they are most critically needed. We are building amore sustainable future through the power of professional design.

Programs: In 1999, we launched our first venture, an international competition to design five-year transitional housing for returning refugees in Kosovo. More than 300 architects and designers from 30 nations participated in the competition which resulted in five built prototypes. An exhibition of the finalists and selected designs was showcased internationally. Since then, Architecture for Humanity has developed a network of over 7,000 architects and designers and hosted a second competition to design a mobile HIV/AIDS health clinic for Africa. This second project led to over 532 entries from 51 countries and is currently being exhibited around the world. As a result operational clinics were built in Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania. In addition to implementing design initiatives and competitions, Architecture for Humanity also aims to promote humanitarian and social design through advocacy and education programs. Architecture for Humanity has consulted with government bodies and relief organizations on a number of projects, including mine clearance programs and playground building in the Balkans; post disaster reconstruction assistance in Grenada, India, Sri Lanka and the United States; and refugee housing on the borders of Afghanistan. Elementary and high school students have benefited from our design initiatives through after-school workshops, and at the university level, architecture and design programs around the world have used our competitions and design criteria as a model for semester-long projects.