Tuesday, January 17, 2012

INTERVIEW: We Talk with Architecture for Humanity Founder Cameron Sinclair

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A few years ago, I sat down with Cameron Sinclair to talk about his recently-launched Open Architecture Network. He describes it as a “gift to the design community” with a simple mission: “to generate design opportunities that will improve living standards for all “by providing an open-source platform through which anyone can view, post, share, and adapt sustainable, humanitarian-based, scalable solutions. The idea that designs and all associated documents can and should be shared within the decidedly proprietary architectural industry is truly innovative, and could very well aid in the reshaping of the entire architectural profession into a more socially-focused and responsible vocation. Read on for a full transcription of the interview.

Emily: You won the TED prize, and the Open Architecture Network was your “wish.” How did the idea come about? Down the line how do you think it’s going to change the existing system?
Cameron Sinclair, photo by PhOtOnQuAnTiQuE
Cameron: The whole idea of the Network came from our frustration. It was really the frustration of working on projects in different locations with different architects and not being able to share ideas and knowledge. For instance, we’d have an architect in Sri Lanka, and she’d have to drive for a day to get to a place where she could upload information, and it would take her 4 hours to upload something. And then we would get it, we’d print it out, and it meant that a decision would take two weeks. Whereas if we can have a system where all that information’s up online and people can comment on it- all these great tools, then you can make on-the-ground decisions a lot quicker.

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more about architecture:

Reading the Landscape: Landscape as Urbanism

Paris Buildings: A Brief History

nteraction of Architecture and Society: City Individuality under changeable informal Effect Conditions

Digital Drawing For Landscape Architecture: Contemporary Techniques And Tools For Digital Representation In Site Design

On Architecture: Collected Reflections On A Century Of Change

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