Designing for Hope
Design from a Distance
I spent part of the morning last Friday with the team at Architecture For Humanity (and a South African Design Fellow on the ground), brainstorming potential design solutions for FIFA’s Football For Hope program. As it turns out, FIFA has decided that the World Cup 2010 will be like no other: rather than just a sporting event, FIFA aims to use the Hope program to “bring together, support, advise and strengthen sustainable social and human development programmes” in areas affected by the tournament. FIFA’s plan? To build 20 community centers and football pitches throughout Africa, part of its “2o Centres in 2010″ program, and a concerted attempt to leave a legacy beyond the World Cup 2010.
To me this sounds like a great plan but, were it not for the involvement of Architecture For Humanity, whose team brings an amazing breadth and depth of community design knowledge, I would mostly write it off as a CSR/greenwashing play. I mean, let’s be honest, do 20 towns in Africa actually need community centers? Read more…