If you\u2019re interested in architecture and have ever considered the role architectural design plays in advancing a progressive social agenda, now is the time to sit up and take notice of a new breed of designer.<\/p>\n

The focus of this new breed is neither abstract nor theoretical. Their designs are less about them and more about the people who are the ultimate users. They work primarily in the Third World and in underdeveloped nations where the needs are great, and small-scale solutions yield large-scale impact.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re listeners and collaborators shaping modestly scaled design solutions to specific social needs. They\u2019re problem solvers and innovators who respect and celebrate local context. They\u2019re users of hyper-local vocabulary and sustainable, indigenous building materials. Theirs is a humanitarian commitment employing the practical tools of their trade.<\/p>\n

If you look, you\u2019re not going to find their faces plastered on the covers of trendy shelter magazines; but the homes, shelters, hospitals, and schools they design and build and their impact on needy communities is profound. \u00a0They are everything the self-aggrandizing celebrity architect is not.<\/p>\n