Architecture for Humanity

- Editor in Chief of Architectural Record, Robert Ivy[6]The organization was founded on April 6, 1999, by Cameron Sinclair and Kate Stohr in response to the need for immediate long-term shelter for returning refugees in Kosovo after the region's bloody conflict.

In 2005 it adopted an "open source" model and became the first organization in the world to utilize Creative Commons licensing system on a physical structure.

[2][3] In 2016, a lawsuit was filed in which the founders and board members of Architecture for Humanity were sued for $3 million for the alleged misuse of donations.

[11] The organization provided pro-bono design and construction management services and funding for projects around the world, including developing and building schools in West Africa and Haiti, developing long-term rebuilding efforts in Myanmar after Cyclone Nargis, and constructing sports for social change facilities in Africa and South America.

Work has also included long-term reconstruction in India and Sri Lanka following the Indian Ocean tsunami, rebuilding initiatives in the United States after Hurricane Katrina, and hosting a number of international design competitions.

To that end, they have consulted with government bodies and relief organizations on a number of projects, including landmine clearance programs and playground building in the Balkans; transitional housing for IDPs in Afghanistan, Sudan and Grenada; school building in Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda; and earthquake reconstruction assistance in Pakistan, Turkey and Iran.

In August 2008, members of Architecture for Humanity New York were declared New Yorkers of the Week by cable news network NY1 for the chapter's first project.

Architecture for Humanity has hosted a series of open international design competitions focused on systemic issues of poverty.

The year of the inaugural competition, the AMD Open Architecture Challenge, sought ideas to develop innovative off the grid technology centers.

An international jury convened in July at the 2009 Aspen Ideas festival and selected eight finalists from the tens of thousands of entries from more than 65 countries.