AFRO-NETS> Designers from around the world respond to HIV/AIDS epidemic

[Cameron Sinclair <csinclair@architectureforhumanity.org>]

Designers from around the world respond to HIV/AIDS epidemic
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Dear all, 

I thought I would share with you the response to a design initiative 
we have been running this year. The opening of an exhibit of the show 
is on December 6th in NY and please RSVP if your interested in com-
ing. 

Cheers
Cameron Sinclair
mailto:csinclair@architectureforhumanity.org


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Over 500 Teams From Around the World Submit Designs for a Mobile 
Health Clinic to Combat HIV/AIDS Crisis in Africa

Finalists to be announced on World AIDS day (December 1, 2002)

"...a remarkable project with great possibility..."
Honorable William J. Clinton, 42nd President of the United States

"Architects and designers have not only an opportunity but a profes-
sional obligation to help end this crisis." 
Frank Gehry, Pritzker Prize winning architect and Architecture for 
Humanity Advisory Board Member

--
New York, NY ­ It is estimated that three-quarters of the world's 
AIDS population lives in Sub-Saharan Africa; most have no access to 
lifesaving drugs, testing facilities or even basic preventative care. 
One of the major factors inhibiting medical professionals in Africa 
from treating this disease is the inability to access vast areas of 
the continent with adequately equipped facilities. In response, Ar-
chitecture for Humanity challenged architects, designers and medical 
professionals from around the world to design a mobile HIV/AIDS 
health clinic. Designers were given six months to develop schemes for 
a fully equipped, mobile medical unit and HIV/AIDS treatment center 
that could be used for not only testing, prevention and treatment of 
the disease, but also to disseminate information regarding the virus 
and provide basic health care services.

By the project deadline, November 1, 2001, more than 504 teams repre-
senting 49 nations answered the call. Crossing geographical, politi-
cal and cultural boundaries, entries came in from such diverse places 
as Australia, Botswana, China, Denmark, India, Japan, Kenya, Sri 
Lanka, South Africa and Zimbabwe. A detailed set of criteria was de-
veloped with the support and advice from a team of over one-hundred 
medical professionals and HIV/AIDS researchers. During the submission 
period, over 126,000 visitors from 108 countries logged on to 
http://www.architectureforhumanity.org to learn about this initia-
tive. In total, more than 850 architects, medical professionals, in-
dustrial designers and students in the field of design and medicine 
took part in this truly global response, submitting highly innovative 
and cost-efficient schemes.

A seven-person panel comprised of internationally renowned architects 
and HIV/AIDS professionals will meet in New York from November 22 to 
November 23, 2002 to jury the entries. The panellists will include: 
Toshiko Mori, Chair of the Department of Architecture, Harvard Gradu-
ate Design School; Dr. Reuben Mutiso PhD, architect/planner and prin-
cipal of Tectura International in Nairobi, Kenya; Rick Joy, architect 
and principal of Rick Joy Architects; Jennifer Siegal, architect and 
principal of Office of Mobile Design; Kate Bourne, Executive Vice 
President of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI); Dr. 
Peter R. Lamptey M.D., President of the AIDS Institute, Family Health 
International; and Dr Shaffiq Essajee, Director of the AIDS Research 
and Family Care Clinic in Mombasa, Kenya.

The jury will select first, second, and third place entries along 
with the best student entry and ten honorable mentions.

Finalists will be announced in New York on World AIDS Day, December 
1, 2002.

An exhibition of the winning entries and selected designs will open 
on December 6, 2002 at the Van Alen Institute in New York and will be 
on display until December 20, 2002. With the support of Virgin Atlan-
tic and W Hotels, this exhibit is set to travel in 2003 within the 
United States and internationally. Money raised from the US$ 35 sub-
mission fee (waived for entries from developing countries), donations 
and additional fundraising activities will be used to build a proto-
type of the first place concept. Once developed, it is hoped that re-
fined versions of this cost-effective and mobile design can be built 
for Africa?and eventually, easily replicated in other regions around 
the world.

---
About Architecture for Humanity

Architecture for Humanity is a volunteer organization founded by 28-
year-old designer Cameron Sinclair in 1999. A registered nonprofit 
organization, Architecture for Humanity encourages architects and de-
signers to seek solutions to global social and humanitarian crises. 
With each project a new advisory board is assembled based on board 
members' individual areas of expertise. For our most recent project, 
the Mobile HIV/AIDS Health Clinic For Africa, the nine-member board 
includes Pritzker-prize winning architect Frank Gehry FAIA; Ambassa-
dor Richard Swett FAIA; South African architect Rodney Harber; Kenyan 
Architect Reuben Mutiso; IAVI Vice President Kate Bourne; Dr. Johan-
nes van Dam of the Population Council; Dr. Sunanda Ray, Executive Di-
rector of SafAIDS based in Zimbabwe; and Dr. Michael Sweat of John 
Hopkins University.

"Architecture for Humanity represents the finest of the new breed of 
architectural leadership, employing architectural skills and direct-
ing them for the larger good...Committed, unapologetically architec-
tural in name and mission, Architecture for Humanity stands up for 
people in need." Robert Ivy, Editor-in-Chief, Architectural Record

---
About Van Alen Institute

Van Alen Institute is a non-profit organization committed to improv-
ing the design of the public realm through a program of competitions, 
workshops, public forums, exhibitions, and publications. Founded in 
1894 as the Society of Beaux-Arts Architects, the Institute was re-
named in 1996 after William Van Alen, the architect of the Chrysler 
Building and our largest benefactor, and repositioned to focus on the 
public realm. Based in New York, the Institute's projects initiate 
interdisciplinary and international collaborations between practitio-
ners, policy-makers, students, educators, and community leaders. To 
learn more visit our sixth-floor gallery or http://www.vanalen.org .

For more about the Mobile HIV/AIDS Health Clinic for Africa and Ar-
chitecture For Humanity, visit: 
http://www.architectureforhumanity.org 

or contact:
Cameron Sinclair
Executive Director
Tel: +1-646-765-0906
mailto:csinclair@architectureforhumanity.org

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