Mitazono Wakaba Kindergarten was part of Architecture for Humanity’s Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami Rebuilding . (Courtesy Arch for Humanity)

Late in the day on Friday, December 16, Cameron Sinclair, the co-founder of Architecture for Humanity, sent a letter that stunned the world of public interest architecture. According to Sinclair, Architecture for Humanity is closing its doors. John King of the San Francisco Chronicle confirmed that the San Francisco–based staff had been laid off at the beginning of the month.

The organization, which Sinclair founded with Kate Stohr, responded to natural disasters around the world with innovative pro-bono architecture in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the United States. At its peak, Architecture for Humanity had 60 chapters and won a National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum.

Sinclair and Stohr are no longer with the organization. Calls to Architecture for Humanity did not go through.

Sinclair’s letter in full: