Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Architecture for Humanity has announced the first ever Open Architecture Prize. $250,000 will be awarded to the winning design of an open competition to develop technology centers in the developing world. The competition is set to launch later this year.

The first great challenge for the prize will be the design of a sustainable technology facility and community center which incorporates a centralized building equipped with internet connectivity solutions designed to enable an entire community to access the transformative power of the Internet. The competition will be developed with a local community partner for a specific site and community. Once a design is selected, the prize money will be used to implement the winning scheme. Designs will also be made available through the Open Architecture Network.

"The Open Architecture Prize delivers on Architecture for Humanity's vision of encouraging collaboration and challenging designers to reach beyond the traditional bounds of architecture to develop innovative solutions that improve global living conditions," said Dan Shine, director of the 50x15 Initiative, AMD. "The creative designs developed in this competition will contribute to the 50x15 Initiative's ambitious goal of connecting 50 percent of the world's population to the Internet by 2015."

The network was unveiled at TED 2007 by Architecture for Humanity and a number of its technology partners, including AMD, Creative Commons, Hot Studio, and Sun Microsystems, Inc.

"For far too long many great award-winning designs have gone undeveloped," said Cameron Sinclair, executive director and co-founder, Architecture for Humanity. "Through the Open Architecture Network we unveiled yesterday and the Open Architecture Prize we are announcing today, we are not only challenging the creative world to design innovative structures, we are going one step further and implementing the winning solution to positively affect thousands of lives."

In addition to technology expertise and a diverse portfolio of innovative connectivity solutions, the 50x15 Initiative brings significant experience in assessing regional technology problems and deploying relevant solutions to the winning project. This expertise is essential in developing the competition criteria, as well as determining which design will empower a community to the greatest extent possible.

Most importantly you HAVE to be an Open Architecture Network member to participate. So, SIGN UP and you will be the first to receive information on the competition and brief.

Humanitarian goals, tech-savvy solutions
International Herald Tribune, March 12th 2007

AMD sponsors Open Architecture Prize
USA Today, March 11th 2007

Big News
My Heart's in Accra, March 10th 2007

Win a Prize: Build A Tech Lab
Wired News, March 9th 2007

Framing Open Source Architecture
Wired News, March 8th 2007

Woozers!

First off thank you to all those who signed up to join the Open Architecture Network. In the first 4 days of launching the network had 200+ projects uploaded and over 1290 members register. (at one point on Friday their were over 6000 guests online at the same time) It took Architecture for Humanity 4 years to reach that level of membership so we think that is a pretty good beginning for something big. With the announcement of the Open Architecture Prize, the network could really become the clearinghouse of humanitarian and sustainable design. Over the next few months we will be adding some really exciting features and welcome any ideas.

As a result the preview we gave at the TED conference a number of potential companies are interested in becoming Network and Content Sponsors. This is great as it means we can keep the system free AND most importantly add much of the functionality the team designed on the network.

Right now our main focus is supporting the projects section of the site and during the next 2 months we will be uploading every Architecture for Humanity project done over the past seven years, including ones which failed (learning from errors is as important as being inspired by success). Over 30 other groups have also committed to uploading projects and we can certainly help any of you in setting up projects. We hope you join us on making this community a place where architects and designers can collaborate, share and make a difference.