About us

Rural Infrastructure development is one of the greatest community needs within Panama.  Agro-tourism structures, school classrooms, recreational parks for children, and neighborhood meeting halls are just a few of the community needs that many rural Panamanian communities lack. HOWEVER, several efforts to change this are happening right now. Find out how to start an Architecture Brigade by contacting michelle@globalbrigades.org. For questions regarding projects in Panama, contact johncunningham@globalbrigades.org.

 

What is Global Architecture Brigades (GAB)?

GLOBAL ARCHITECTURE BRIGADES (GAB) is a volunteer student-led collaborative dedicated to the design and construction of socially responsible solutions to architectural problems in rural Panama. A think tank design approach utilizes extensive community dialogue and independent research to create efficient, appropriate, and elegant structures to be embraced and utilized by those for whom they were built.  

 

GAB provides sustainable solutions by providing:

 

1. Direct Capital Investment In The Community (Community Investment Fund): As part of the GAB cost, each brigader will contribute a portion of their fees towards direct capital investment of the community where their project is located.  This money will be used as the Brigade Team sees fit to provide architectural materials that suit the given project.  The Brigade team itself is the deciding body on how this capital is spent in order to maximize project sustainability.
2. Human Resource Capital: Each Brigade will include at least 10-15 students who will engage a community, create an intercultural dialogue, and collaborate to provide the best sustainable solutions possible.  Often times, brigaders walk away from these experiences learning much more than taught or built and gaining a valuable and eye-opening experience.
3. Global Brigades Is Not a One Time Hand Out. Often times, if a Brigade believes it is necessary, they can pursue 1-2 follow up brigades to ensure the execution of their sustainable development solutions. Global Brigades staff along with our partner organizations also continue to monitor the success of each brigade to ensure long term sustainability. 

 

Who joins the GAB Team?

Mainly architecture, urban planning and design students form Global Architecture Clubs at their universities. Often times undergraduate students interested in pursuing graduate work in architecture and design also participate in GAB.

 

These clubs organize week long trips to Panama, accompanied by advisors and local guides to participate in architectural empowerment projects.

 

What is GAB's mission?

 

Ultimately, extended relationships between brigades and communities would result not only in the implementation of a variety of projects, but also the accumulation of a vast wealth of knowledge from which future students, designers, and communities could learn. 

Creating these solutions within the current parameters that the field of architecture has set is simply not possible. Students of design must question, reconsider, and ultimately rewrite every aspect of design that culture has come to accept. Through this counter-cultural approach to design defiance, ARCHITECTURE CAN BECOME SOMETHING ESSENTIAL NOT TO THE FEW WHO WANT, BUT RATHER TO THE MANY WHO NEED.

 

Where is GAB?

Currently, GAB projects are happening in local Panamanian communities, with possibilities of extensions in other regions. Thus far, successful brigades have been implemented in the Veraguas and the Coclé provinces with future projects in Bocas del Toro and Comarca Ngobe Bugle.

For more information, contact John Cunningham 

johncunningham@globalbrigades.org
630.217.4498

 

Leadership:

 

John Cunningham, Architecture Brigades Director

Michelle Menclowicz, Student Advisory Counsel Director