May
19
Written by:
James Burke
19 May 2010 16:52
Cameron Sinclair is the 2006 TED Prize winner and co-founder (and “Chief Eternal Optimist”) of Architecture for Humanity (@archforhumanity) and the Open Architecture Network, a non-profit that seeks architecture solutions to global crises.
Hundreds of projects are available on the Open Architecture Network and are all licensed with a Creative Commons licence – eg “Adaptable Hillside Classrooms”.
Each project contains a workspace, team profiles, project updates and access to related files that aims to offer open source architectural plans and blueprints on the web.
The OAN is a clearinghouse for designs, but it's also a living network, where communities can connect with designers and donors, and where builders can manage a project from start to finish, with timelines, commenting tools and forums. Clean design and a powerful backend make the network accessible to anyone worldwide, while Creative Commons licensing allows projects to be sampled, remixed and customized.
Cameron Sinclair on open-source architecture - Accepting his 2006 TED Prize, Cameron Sinclair demonstrates how passionate designers and architects can respond to world housing crises. He unveils his TED Prize wish for a network to improve global living standards through collaborative design.
Note: the interactive transcript on the TED site is an excellent way of scanning the video content and when you click on a phrase the video plays from that point.