Cutting-Edge Designers 2007

Cameron Sinclair

Open Architecture Network

As the force behind the Open Architecture Network (OAN), Cameron Sinclair has brought the philosophy and collaborative methods of the open-source software movement to architecture, in the hopes of meeting the housing and building needs of millions of people around the globe. Sinclair is the co-founder and executive director of Architecture for Humanity, an organization that seeks to supply architectural solutions to humanitarian crises, bringing design services to communities. He helped to create the OAN as a free, Web-based platform that is part database of building projects, part design tool, and part community. Some four months after its beta launch on Mar. 8, the OAN boasts more than 5,000 members and nearly 400 projects.