The world of architecture is in shock following the sudden death of Paul Pholeros.
Pholeros died in a hospital on Monday after he fell ill last month .According to The Guardian, Pholeros, who died at age 62, is an award-winning Sydney architect who is an expert on Indigenous housing and housing equality. He co-founded the non-profit organization called Healthabitat, which aimed at keeping Aboriginal people from getting sick in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands located in north-west South Australia.
Through Healthabitat, Pholeros has helped materialize 180 Housing For Health projects, a model Paul and the founders have developed that ensures a house has basic things like a working shower, toilet and access to a laundry. Often working with Aboriginal communities and contracting local Indigenous contractors, they conducted surveys of all housing necessities, such as repairs. The standard budget for each house was $7,500.
The organization has improved over 8,000 houses and lives of 55,000 people. By 2011, Healthabitat is said to have employed 831 local indigenous people as builders, planners, project managers, database operators, etc.
President Jon Clements of the Australian Institute of Architects said that Pholeros's death was a "great loss" to architecture, according to The Guardian. He said, "Anyone who had the opportunity to hear him speak about his work could not help but be moved, changed in some fundamental way."
Pholeros friend, Adrian Welke, said that he was an "incredibly generous, special person. A giant of a man."
On the other hand, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, his death is mourned by many. He was known not only as a man who was incredibly intelligent in his field but also as a man who valued other people's health, something very few architects can incorporate with their work. Pholeros is also known for his definition of Architecture, which is "a relationship, between the human and the world."
