Design Like You Give a Damn (2 LUs)
December 05, 2006 5:30-7:30 pm
AIA San Francisco, 130 Sutter Street, Suite 600, San Francisco
As we enter the 21st century the field of architecture is at a crossroads. From Hurricane Katrina to the war in Iraq, large-scale urbanization, disaster and conflict has destabilized not only our political structures but also the built environment prompting many to question the building practices of the past. Is the role of the architect to create the signature monuments that define and exalt our cultural and economic values? Or, is there an alternative path to building in the world today, one that engages people where they live and work and recognizes that sustainability is not a luxury but a necessity?
Join Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr of Architecture for Humanity, editors of the book Design Like You Give a Damn, as they discuss how a new breed of designers is responding to humanitarian crises and rethinking the social and economic future of the more than two billion people currently surviving in sub-standard living conditions.
Check out their recent profile in 7x7 magazine.
About Cameron Sinclair
Cameron Sinclair is the co-founder and executive director of Architecture for Humanity. Sinclair was trained as an architect at the University of Westminster and at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London and then worked for 6 years as a project architect in New York City. He recently served as the Cass Gilbert Visiting Professor at the University of Minnesota. He has spoken at numerous conferences on sustainable development and post disaster reconstruction and has made guest appearances on BBC World Service, CNN International and National Public Radio. In 2005 he was awarded the RISD/Target Emerging Designer of the Year and the Lewis Mumford Award for Peace. Most recently, Sinclair was named as one of three winners of the 2006 TED Prize, which honors visionaries from any field who have shown they can "positively impact life on this planet."
About Kate Stohr
Kate Stohr is the co-founder of Architecture for Humanity. She brings a background in daily news and a strong understanding of urban issues, planning and infrastructure to the organization. As managing director she has developed and led a number of design and building initiatives, including the deployment of transitional housing to Grenada and the organization's response to Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast of America. She served as the executive editor of Design Like You Give A Damn, the first book to bring the best of humanitarian design to the printed page. Along with Cameron Sinclair, she is the recipient of the 2006 Wired Rave Award and the 2005 Index Design to Improve Life Award for Community.
Free to Members/Students; $10 Nonmembers
http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/
Contact:
rsvp@aiasf.org