This looks rather cool – it’s an open design competition (you don’t even need to be a registered architect), run by Architecture for Humanity, in which you work as a partnership with a local school to develop a classroom design ‘for the future’.

Architecture for Humanity is a “A volunteer non-profit organization set up to promote architecture and design to seek solutions to global social and humanitarian crisis”. “They suggest that educating all children worldwide will require the construction of 10 million new classrooms in more than 100 countries by 2015. At the same time, millions of existing classrooms are in serious need of repair and refurbishment”.

What I really like about this is that you inspire the students along the way by running a companion design curriculum as you conduct the project. Thus, we have school students learning about architecture and the importance of good design in the classroom. I don’t necessarily see that as a chance for early recruitment, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a more design literate culture. We need more projects like this!

And, it only costs US$25 to enter… (unlike the WAN House of the Year Competition apparently…).

Click on the blackboard for details at the official competition website.

m-d