Monday night, my brother Paul and I sat down for a long visit with Cameron Sinclair, the founder of Architecture for Humanity.

He is a passionate guy about my age who saw the need for a conduit between designers and people in need. So, he started Architecture for Humanity to create that conduit. It has become a global organization with about 3,000 participating architects working on issues of housing, basic sanitation, and disaster recovery.

Founded in 1999 by Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr, Architecture for Humanity is a grassroots nonprofit organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises. Through design-build programs, competitions, educational forums, and partnerships with community development and relief organizations, Architecture for Humanity creates opportunities for architects and designers from around the world to assist communities in need. Where resources and expertise are scarce, innovative, sustainable, and collaborative design can make a difference.

The conversation was great. Cameron seems to share Paul’s passion for art and my passion for architecture. It seemed that we could have talked the whole night away.

I’ll post more later, after I’ve sorted through all the topics we discussed. Also, you may see some of it in print in the future, since Paul is an accomplished writer.

In the mean time, check out the AFH website and look for their forthcoming book “Design like you give a Damn”.

There is a Minnesota chapter, which I’ve got to look into, at http://www.afh-mn.org/.

Is there any interest is starting a local chapter in Northfield?