Design with Conscience
Architects have embraced social responsibility longer than the media has acknowledged. In fact, an optimistic view of design’s ability to improve the world has defined great movements in the profession’s history. But only recently has activity in this field and attention from the press reached critical mass…

Image courtesy Urban-Think Tank

Ban-Aid
The Japanese legend, Shigeru Ban, discusses architects’ duty to do good.

Photo © Elissa J.H.

Repositioning Practice: Teddy Cruz
San Diego architect Teddy Cruz speaks about form, politics, and “repositioning practice.”

Image courtesy Estudio Teddy Cruz

Designing Local
RECORD introduces architectural talents who have come into their own with community-specific approaches to design challenges.

Hashim Sarkis designs for Lebanese communities by collaborating with them.

Joe Addo looks beyond architecture for his native Ghana.

Urban-Think Tank stacks multiple structures to meet the myriad needs of the barrio.

Luyanda Mpahlwa returned from decades of prison and exile to found a firm in his native South Africa.

Anna Heringer turns to traditional materials for her projects in Bangladesh

Pictured: Luyanda Mpahlwa / Photo © Wieland Gleich

Design Invitational
RECORD invites Code, Phooey Architects, and Deborah Gans
and Denise Hoffman Brandt to redefine the refugee experience.

Image courtesy Code

Biloxi Clues
The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio provides a model for rebuilding after Katrina.

Photo © Alan Karchmer

The Coast Guard
Design-build studios, NGOs, community outreach organizations, and private practices have risen to the challenge of rebuilding the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina.

Photo © Ricky Ridecos

Teaching by Example
Design-build educators—Steve Badanes, Thomas Dutton, Andrew Freear, Adam Hopfner, David Lewis, Hank Louis, and Dan Rockhil—talk pedagogy and realpolitick.

Photo © Scot Zimmerman

Architectural Technology
Putting the computer aside, socially minded architects rely on age-old construction techniques and readily available building materials to create structures for those in desperate need.

Photo © Nicolá Cabrera Andrade

archrecord2
Results are always crucial, but for these emerging firms, process is really where interest and impact collide. Meet Atlanta-based Houser Walker Architecture—two architects who have taken the time to define their firm's core values. Also, we introduce you to Wikitecture, two guys shepherding a new day in design with the power of many.

Image courtesy Houser Walker Architecture

Building Types Study
For architects, community centers often call for sensible design on a modest budget. What these projects lack in glamour, they make up for in relevance to people’s lives. We look at 12 standout projects, including the 5.4.7 Arts Center in tornado-stricken Greensburg, Kansas.

Photo courtesy Studio 804

Practice Matters
The notion that architecture firms have an ethical obligation to provide services pro bono is gaining wide-spread acceptance. Here’s how some firms are making the most of the experience.

Photo courtesy McCall Design Group

Residential
In our quarterly roundup of residential projects, we explore HGA Architects’ artist housing in Washington, D.C., supportive living in Toronto by architectsAlliance, low-income housing by Kanner Architects in Santa Monica, and a senior living project in San Francisco by Kwan Henmi and Anne Fougeron.

Photo © John Linden