Cameron Sinclair

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For the Scottish composer, see Cameron Sinclair (composer).
Cameron Sinclair
Born (1973-11-16) November 16, 1973
London, England
Nationality United Kingdom
Awards TED Prize; National Design Award; Aspen Seven
Projects Open Architecture Network; Architecture for Humanity; Worldchanging; Design Like You Give A Damn

Cameron Sinclair (b. 1973, London, England) was a co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, a charitable organization which seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings professional design and construction services to communities in need. From April 1999 to November 2013 he served as its executive director and "chief eternal optimist" (CEO).

In December 2013 he took over all assets associated with Worldchanging. Sinclair is currently a senior advisor for the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Education and personal life

He was born and raised in South East London, and educated at Kingswood School, Bath. In the mid-1990s Sinclair trained as an architect at the University of Westminster and The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London. Having developed an interest in social, cultural and humanitarian design, his postgraduate thesis focused on providing shelter to New York's homeless through sustainable, transitional housing. This thesis served as the basis for starting Architecture for Humanity. Architecture for Humanity was founded by Sinclair in 1999 and has grown to include 90,000 design professionals, 5 regional offices around the globe and 70 city-based chapters in 14 countries. In 2008, the University of Westminster awarded Sinclair an honorary doctorate for his services to the profession.[1]

Professional career

After graduating from university in 1997, Sinclair moved to New York City, where he worked as a designer for Steve Blatz Architects, Christidis Lauster Radu Architects and Gensler.[2][3][4]

In April 1999, Sinclair co-founded Architecture for Humanity with Kate Stohr, a charitable organization which develops architecture and design solutions to humanitarian crises, and provides pro bono design and construction services to communities in need. The organization has worked in forty eight countries on projects ranging from school, health clinics, affordable housing and long term sustainable reconstruction. Work has also included rebuilding after the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, 2010 earthquakes in Haiti, Hurricane Katrina and the 2004 South Asia Tsunami.

In 2006, Sinclair and Stohr published a compendium on socially conscious design, titled Design Like You Give A Damn: Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises (May 2006, Metropolis Books). In 2012 they released the follow-up, titled Design Like You Give A Damn [2]: Building Change From The Ground Up (May 2012, Abrams Books).

Sinclair is a regular lecturer and visiting professor and has contributed to a number of exhibitions dealing with social justice and design. He has spoken at a number of international conferences on sustainable development and post disaster reconstruction. In the past few years he has taught in New Zealand, Spain, Japan and the United States.

Awards

In 2004, Fortune Magazine named Cameron Sinclair as one of the Aspen Seven, seven people changing the world for the better.[5] He was the recipient of the 2006 TED Prize and the 2005 RISD/Target Emerging Designer of the Year. Along with co-founder Kate Stohr, was awarded the Wired Magazine 2006 Rave Award for Architecture for their work in responding to housing needs following Hurricane Katrina.

As a result of the TED Prize he and Stohr launched the Open Architecture Network, the worlds’ first open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design.[6] In 2012 the Open Architecture Network merged with Worldchanging to expand its work to both the built and natural environment.

In August 2008 Architecture for Humanity and its co-founders Sinclair and Stohr were named as recipients of the Design Patron Award for the 2008 National Design Awards.[7] In 2008 he appeared as one of CNNs Principal Voices as well the television series Iconoclasts alongside Cameron Diaz, airing on the Sundance Channel.

In 2009 Sinclair and Stohr were jointly awarded the Bicentenary Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for increasing people’s resourcefulness. In 2013 Sinclair was awarded the Pilosio Building Peace [8] award.

Sinclair was a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and Senior Fellow of the Design Futures Council.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Public figures set for honorary awards". University of Westminster. November 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008. 
  2. ↑ Gordon, Alistair (2003-08-28), "Designing for the Dispossessed", The New York Times 
  3. ↑ Hales, Linda (2005-08-06), "Blueprint for Building a Better World", The Washington Post 
  4. ↑ Bio, Cameron Sinclair, retrieved 2008-07-29 
  5. ↑ Sellers, Patricia (2004-08-23), The Aspen Seven, Fortune Magazine 
  6. ↑ Scanlon, Jessie (2007-03-15), Open-Source Goes Hammer and Nail, BusinessWeek 
  7. ↑ Architecture for Humanity Selected as Design Patron Award Winner in Cooper-Hewitt's Ninth Annual National Design Awards, 2008-08-12 
  8. ↑ Building Peace http://www.premio.pilosio.com/en
  9. ↑ Design Futures Council Senior Fellows http://www.di.net/about/senior_fellows/

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