Collaborate: Distributed Network

Cameron Sinclair, joint founder of Architecture for Humanity, recieved an award, and spoke at the RSA on November 9th.

http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2009/sustainabil...

It was illuminating to gain some insight into the history, operation and future directions of AfH, direct from Cameron Sinclair. I experienced an immediate, if somehwat stretched, affinity, by discovering he was originally from Peckham. )

AfH have a well-established model for participation and sharing of open-source architecture, via the Open Architecture Network. The classic decentralised ‘network’ approach, that Sinclair quoted as inspiring him, is Paul Baran’s model of distributed network nodes, from 1962, which was instrumental in creating the conceptual underpinning of the internet.

So, the aim is to decentralise, share and participate. You then get a multi-nodal flow of knowledge and experience. Function, meaning and activity will ‘enculture’ local and distributed networks, via skills, materials, techniques and symbolism, working across the spectrum of modern Product Design and Engineering. So we’ll explore ways to contribute in traditional Design Engineering (for example, partnering with architecture projects to develop appropriate technology for air-conditioning, heating, ect. for buildings; ‘Jua Kali’ fuel briquette manufacture for micro business, using unpowered machinery and waste organic materials), Industrial Design (for example, input into the useabilty and manufacturability – appropriately – of the above), Service Design (for example, exploring the networks and approaches for marketing and distributing the briquettes) and so on.