Building a better world

Architects should never forget the people that are building for - this is a core belief of Dutch architect Anne Feenstra. His projects in Afghanistan and India serve the local community. This pavilion in the Afghan province Bamiyan is an example of his "slow architecture". He works mainly with locals, and some are even unskilled craftsmen.

Beirut-born Iraqi architect Salma Samar Damluji does not design new buildings, but instead restores old sites that extremists have threatened to destroy, like the Wadi Daw'an in Yemen. Salma Samar Damluji is chief architect of a foundation, that wants to preserve the cultural wealth of the Middle East.

How is it possible to build on a coastal strip that is being impacted by climate change and rising sea levels? It's a quandary that German architect Bernd Gundermann has been trying to solve in Auckland, New Zealand. He wants to protect the city from flooding, but avoid building a fortress - to maintain a connection between the land and sea.

Thai architect Suriya Umpansiriratana designs temples and monasteries for Buddhist monks - for free. His architecture is designed to suit their way of life: peace and movement, meditation, food and prayer - everything follows a circular structure...

…a circular walkway in the treetops rests on thin pillars and allows the monks to follow their daily rituals, and also the path of the sun. Suriya Umpansiriratana uses simple, recyclable materials and combines Buddhist philosophy with ecological concepts.

Then there's also a non-profit project: the orphanage in Thailand’s Noh Bo, designed by students from Trondheim, Norway. The 2008-established organization, TYIN, designed six pavilions - the skeletons of which are made out of wood and the walls of bamboo. The roofs look like butterfly wings, which is where the project's name, "Soe Ker Tie," comes from.

Cheaper rooms for the growing middle class - something that has not been a problem in Thailand for a long time: the state has particularly been promoting programs for the less-privileged. "Every time a project was finished, I thought about us, Bangkok’s extensive middle class," says Patama Roonrakwit. The architect has designed cheap houses for the middle class, like here at the TEN House Project.

Spaniard Santiago Cirugeda regards himself as a subversive-guerilla architect, who questions standards of urban housing and relies on citizens' initiatives. The epicenter of his activism is Sevilla. In La Carpa square, Cirugeda constructed a "spider" with a container body and long metallic legs.

He has also focused his efforts on providing an answer to the housing crisis that drove hundreds of thousands of Spaniards from their homes and into debt. Young architects working with Cirugeda, many of whom have themselves been affected by unemployment, work together with citizens, lawyers and hackers to share the know-how required to shape urban spaces - and perhaps a beer or two as well.

The architects from Al Borde in Ecuador try to integrate locals into their projects. They cooperate with residents to create public buildings, like "Esperanza Dos" in Manabi province. The school is based around a tent-like shape but made of branches and bamboo sticks - the way local fishermen have been building for generations.

As soon as the village community understood all aspects of the construction process, the architects were no longer needed. In a short time, the villagers went on to extend the building, adding rooms featuring wooden floors and bamboo walls - all on their own initiative.

The East Coast Architects work in South Africa's rural regions. They build schools where there is a lack of public or private institutions and therefore also a lack of possible social, cultural and economic growth. But the schools are not only places of education, but also centers for the entire community.

Such model schools, like the "Vele Secondary School" in Limpopo province, are like a microcosm. They familiarize the students with water and electricity provision as well as with collective management - all the while helping them become agriculturally self-sufficient. Completed in 2011, the small village school has become a model for the whole of South Africa.

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma is regarded highly in the league of champions of architects. In contrast to other stars of the international scene, he uses sustainable materials - mainly wood - and demands more humility. He created this building clad in birch wood close to Mont Blanc in the French Alps.