Design has the power to impact every aspect of our lives. Design, in its simplest terms, creates the situations in which we all act, and situations have a stronger impact on personal behavior than anything else. Race, education, religion, up-bringing all impact what we do and how we act, but not nearly as much as the situations we are in. Designing systems for irrigation and food production, shelter, education, and healing that inspire the best in people will change the world.
Design and architecture are too often viewed as unnecessary luxuries: aesthetic finishing touches that do little to affect the utility of a building, garden, or home. It is our environment that affects our behavior and our well-being more than any other factor. It is through design that simple structures can be transformed into spaces that inspire. Hospital rooms that improve healing. Classrooms that motivate learning. Homes that unite families and work environments that foster cooperation and creativity.
While our goal is to deliver solutions that solve social and humanitarian problems through architecture and design, we must first understand the underlying conditions that have created these problems. How can architecture and design solve humanitarian problems? Design is not about finding the correct answer but rather a practice in balancing and optimizing often opposing goals. People as a whole are difficult to change, but situations are relatively easy to redesign.
Guiding Principles for Design:
- Create a collaborative global network of designers addressing humanitarian need.
- Stimulate designers to do more. Elevating architecture and the design professions to those of impact and respect.
- Engage the community in the design process creating stewardship and pride
- Execute effective solutions to address poverty and crisis
- Use local materials and labor so that projects are sustainable, repeatable, and adaptable.
- Evaluate and communicate the successes, failures, and lessons learned
- Elevate the quality of life for all.
