Informal Settlements

How does constraint lead to creativity? Al Borde is a collaborative studio that engages people on the margins of society. Their work is known for extreme affordability and elegantly illustrates how constraint leads to creativity.

Community Development

Arquitectura Expandida

Should designers be outlaws? Arquitectura Expandida is a design collective based in Bogota, Colombia that builds structures of public assembly for communities which cannot afford to go through official channels for design and construction.

Advocacy
Community Development
Urban Strategies

Asian Coalition for Housing Rights

Is the Right to Housing Real? The Asian Coalition is a broad coalition of grassroots organizations, NGOs, architects and engineers currently working in 215 cities across Asia.

Advocacy
Housing

Build Change

What is needed to rebuild resiliently after a disaster? Denver-based non-profit Build Change designs disaster-resistant houses and schools for emerging nations, then trains builders, homeowners, engineers and government officials to build them using simple, culturally appropriate, and cost-effective techniques.

Community Development
Conflict and Disaster

Goonj

How can donated clothing be translated into community renewal? Goonj is a non-governmental organization based in Delhi. It barters clothing and other donated items to pay laborers from the community to carry out development projects in poorer areas.

Advocacy
Community Development
Environment

Heritage Foundation of Pakistan

Can post disaster housing be sustainable and respectful of local vernacular? The Heritage Foundation of Pakistan is one of the world’s most successful providers of sustainable, resilient disaster relief structures. They are also involved in historic conservation projects in Pakistani villages.

Conflict and Disaster

Hunnarshala

2013 Prize Winner

How can artisans build a resilient community? Hunnarshala works with artisans to combine traditional building techniques with innovation. They are also engaged in training and empowering artisan entrepreneurs, bringing them into the mainstream of construction.

Conflict and Disaster
Environment
Housing

Liter of Light

2012 Prize Winner

Can a plastic bottle bring light where electricity is scarce? Philippines based Liter of light is a global, open-source, grassroots movement committed to providing affordable, sustainable light to people with limited or no access to electricity.

Community Development

Sanergy

Can waste management create jobs and improve hygiene? Launched in Nairobi’s slums, Sanergy is a business and sanitation initiative. Low-cost pay toilets are run by locals as a business. Waste is processed into fertilizer and sold to commercial farms.

Community Development
Environment

SPARC

2016 Prize Winner

Vision Award Recipient

What can slum dwellers teach design professionals? SPARC organizes, legitimizes and advocates for India’s urban poor, seeking improved living conditions and advancements in rights. SPARC believes that with structural support, the urban poor can make their destinies.

Advocacy
Community Development

Urban-Think Tank

How can urban dwellers participate in the construction of their own built environment? Urban-Think Tank (UTT) is an interdisciplinary design studio dedicated to high level research and design at a variety of scales, principally concerned with contemporary architecture and urbanism.

Community Development
Urban Strategies

Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading

Can urban upgrading reduce crime? In Cape Town’s Khayelitsha township, Violence Prevention Through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) uses urban planning to fight crime, developing interventions in high-crime spots. They create decent, livable communities through local planning.

Community Development
Housing

Wes Janz

2008 Prize Winner