John Barrie
John Barrie is the Executive Director of the Appropriate Technology Collaborative, a Nonprofit company whose purpose is “To design, develop, demonstrate and distribute appropriate technological solutions for meeting the basic human needs of low income people in the developing world”. In addition to his design work, John Barrie has been an Adjunct Professor of Architecture at the University of Michigan and an Adjunct faculty member at Washtenaw Community College.
John is known for his deep commitment to the principles of sustainable design, social justice, economic development and the creation of human centered technology. John has contributed to the design, specification and construction of environmental projects throughout North America. Recent projects include work with Warner Bros. Studios, the United States Air Force and the Xela Teco workshop in Guatemala.
John edits www.SustainableDesignUpdate.com where he posts frequently on energy, sustainability and social justice. He also writes about appropriate technology at www.apptechdesign.org.
John Barrie conducts lively workshops on sustainable energy efficient design, architectural design, and appropriate technologies for developing countries.
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Please see the article about the Appropriate Technology Collaborative in the Ann Arbor News. Click Here
John Barrie, the Appropriate Technology Collaborative Executive Director has been awarded a 2008 Lindbergh Foundation Grant for “Designing and Prototyping a Highly Efficient Replacement for Kerosene Lamps for Rural Guatemala and Nicaragua”. The prestigious Lindbergh Grant will be used to document existing conditions in Guatemala and Nicaragua and to then design an easy assemble LED based light using recycled cell phone parts. Local engineers in Guatemala will be part of the ATC Design team for this project.
More at: The University of Michigan
The Appropriate Technology Collaborative student sponsored team won the 2007 Edison Prize at Michigan State Univeristy for the design of a solar powered refrigerator – designed to be constructable using locally available materials in rural Africa.
John Barrie and Dr. Norbert Muller won the Boston Innovation Prize for the design of a super efficient air conditioning system. The AC uses water vapor as the refrigerant gas and a novel turbine to pump the gas at very high velocities. More at: ZDNet