Thursday, January 10, 2008

architecture as catalyst

Architecture is a political act, says Cameron Sinclair during his talk at OCAD, and there's a smattering of applause from the largely student audience. i don't blame them: Sinclair is inspiring--and while he can sound aggravatingly smug, he's got good reason for his smirk: the man's a genius at getting ethical, sustainable projects built all over the map. as co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, he's been involved in strengthening communities through buildings from Sri Lanka to L.A., from the Mississippi to the Amazon. this is a photo from the Biloxi rebuilding project (sponsored by none other than Oprah).

most exciting to me is the fact that, after listening raptly to Sinclair talk for 90 minutes about how architecture today truly has to be about more than just the architect's ego, that buildings affect the lives of whole communities, that architecture is planning, not glamour...there is suddenly an unstoppable stampede of students wanting to talk to him about future projects, about getting a job with his organization, and about architecture as inspiration. i couldn't agree more.

ps. for more info about the Biloxi project, visit this participant's blog

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