Architecture for Humanity (AfH) has a clever idea. The San Francisco–based do-good design organization is hosting an auction of original design drawings and prints to support I <3 Architecture, the organization’s spring campaign. From June 19 to29, AfH will host an online auction for some 50 architectural sketches on eBay.
It’s not just neat—although neat it is; the sketches include original drawings and limited-edition prints by Adjaye Associates, BIG, Snøhetta, Steven Holl Architects, and others—it’s a proven idea. Jen Bekman, a New York art dealer, has already struck this vein with 20x200, a popular site that offers affordable art prints. Bekman invites artists to contribute prints with high editions for low prices; on 20x200, a print might occur in editions of hundreds, meaning that the work is unlikely to appreciate in value. But the prices typically range from $20 to several hundred dollars (depending on the size of the print and edition).
Architecture for Humanity is going the more traditional route by only putting up for auction unique prints that could fetch high prices. Perhaps in the future they’ll consider going for volume. The appetite for architectural drawings certainly exists among design nerds.
