The Maria Auxiliadora School in the community of Los Calderones in Ica, Peru. Architecture for Humanity helped design and build a new school after an earthquake damaged a school building in 2007.

Architects don’t just design buildings—they design solutions to some of the world’s most critical problems.

Situated on Haiti’s west coast in the town of Montrouis, the College Mixte Le Bon Berger was forced to demolish its two preexisting, structurally unsound buildings following the 2010 earthquake. AFH recently completed the first phase of a reconstruction project for the 400-student private school. A new rectangular, two-story building contains eight classrooms, with decorative window and door screens fabricated by local metalworkers. To enliven the building, a steel-truss system extending beyond the exterior walls was recently painted a rainbow of colors. Plans for the project’s second phase are under way. ARCHITECT: Architecture for Humanity. BUDGET: $306,000. CONTEXT: Primary school’s

One of 20 football facilities that Architecture for Humanity is designing across Africa for the nonprofit Play Soccer, the Oguaa center is a place for disadvantaged youth to learn soccer, health, and social skills. Doubling as a community center, it is located on the grounds of Mfantsipim, the Gold Coast's first secondary school (and Kofi Annan's alma mater), established in 1876. Designed by Architecture for Humanity fellow David Pound, the Oguaa center has a 2,150-square-foot steel frame made of recycled scaffolding poles. It is clad in bamboo that was harvested, supplied, and installed by the Sabre Charitable Trust, a local

Edited by Architecture for Humanity (Deborah Aaronson). Abrams, 2012, 336 pages, $35 A follow up to the popular Design Like You Give a Damn (2006), this book covers more than 100 recent humanitarian design projects across the globe, selected and edited by Architecture for Humanity (AFH). Available in May, Design Like You Give a Damn [2] (DLYGAD 2) uses case studies to create a snapshot of both the devastation across the globe caused by disasters — manmade or natural — and the ingenious design solutions that have followed. Unlike Beyond Shelter, DLYGAD 2 is more of a coffee table tome

The death toll from Cyclone Nargis, the storm and corresponding tidal surge that struck Myanmar last weekend, continues to climb. An initial estimate of 350 fatalities has risen sharply, with some now projecting 100,000 dead. Approximately one million people are homeless, hunger and disease are threatening survivors, and the city of Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, is littered with debris and lacks electricity. In addition, the government is blocking most international aid, according to news reports.  As the situation appears increasingly dire, the San Francisco–based Architecture for Humanity (AFH) already has mobilized its forces to help disaster victims. As of

At the annual invitation-only Technology Entertainment Design Conference last month, Architecture for Humanity founder Cameron Sinclair took center stage to launch the Open Architecture Prize. Its $250,000 purse, among the largest offered for architecture, will be awarded to the best design for a computer lab that will be built as part of the 50x15 Initiative. This effort, led by chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, aims to provide Internet access to half the world’s population by 2015. Sinclair’s announcement came just one day after he inaugurated another project with a similarly global reach: the Open Architecture Network, an open-source online space where