"Thinking of poor people as consumers, instead of recipients of charity, radically changes the design process. The process of affordable design starts by learning everything there is to learn about poor people as customers and what they are able and willing to pay for something that meets their needs. When in doubt, I resort to a 'don't bother' trilogy:
* If you haven't had good conversation with your eyes open with at least twenty-five poor people before you start designing, don't bother.
* If what you design won't at least pay for itself in the first year, don't bother.
* If you don't think you can sell at least a million units at an unsubsidized price to poor customers after the design process is over, don't bother."
Paul Polak, quoted in Design for the Other 90% (2007), by the Smithsonian Institution
Library of Roberto, architect
Brooklyn, New York
Architects, do you get bored designing single-family dwellings in rich American suburbs? Wouldn't you like to be the person who designed the Q Drum, or the Life Straw, or some other thing that saves lives? That privilege is granted not only to doctors, if you only knew it.
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