thinking about
If you've been here, you know it's been brewing. The friction forming, the glances in sessions, the confused media. Something happened in the air in the last 24 hours and being here has been one of the most fascinating events I've experienced. It's that moment. The one we had when they saw two options emerging - one of an old order struggling to hold the moral center and another that was unwilling to continue with a broken and unjust system. It was not about politics, it was about a moral urgency of now.
A Forum of two futures
I'm sitting on the floor outside the NWA lounge (borrowing wifi access) and waiting for a swift 14 hour flight to Amsterdam. From there I fly into Zurich and take a 3hr train to Davos for the 2009 World Economic Forum. I think I arrive around 10pm Monday night.
Last year I 'snuck in' and was pleasantly surprised by the amount of stuff that actually gets done. Yes the event is teaming with cynical journalists and financial 'experts' but it those at the periphery who are getting on with it. Given I didn't have a pass to attend sessions I lobbied - ie. I sat in the forum lobby and chatted to everyone. psst, that's where the deals are sealed.
Creating an open commons of FEMA, HUD and other agency projects as a mechanism for transparency and innovation in the built environment.
Why become ‘open’?
Every year the United States governments spends billions of tax payers dollars on well intentioned projects in the social sector. This can range from affordable housing, schools and playgrounds to responding to natural disasters. While there are exceptional projects built, there are far more that are wasting funds reinventing the wheel at best or rebuilding failed poorly maintainable unsustainable structures. As there is currently no online resource of all government funded projects it is difficult to know the totals spent in the built environment. From initial research we are seeing numbers in the range of $5-9 Billion in current backlogged projects just inside the US. There is a very, very inexpensive way of accountability that would lead to a huge push in innovation and it has been done before. An Open Source Network.
Every two years we renew our advisory board and we are weeks away from the 2009 crop of advisers. Unlike the main board this is a gathering of folks that help to broaden the reach of Architecture for Humanity as well as bring in support in all the areas which our work affects or is influenced by.
Last week in an internal meeting we began to put together a shortlist of who we thought would be helpful to have on the board. Innocently I posted the same question on facebook today and within an hour received a dozen names. While we are going through this process I felt we should ask our readers who they felt should be on the panel. So shoot me your suggestion by December 27th 2008 (or add a comment below) and I'll pose it to the main board for inclusion.
One more thing. This is our 10th year so let's think big.
Cheers,
Cameron
The following have currently been suggested via twitter and facebook:
Rick Fedrizzi, CEO, USGBC
Fareed Zakaria, Journalist, CNN
Frank Almeda
Jeff Christian, Architect
Carl Bass, CEO, AutoDesk
Dr. Dickson Despommier
Toshiko Mori, Architect
Renzo Piano, Architect
Pierre Sartoux
Lior Hessel
Mitchell Joachim, Architect
