Every day, Jack Sanders owner and founder of the full-service East Austin design company Design Build Adventure, is outside working on some sort of design or construction project under the shady brim of a flat-brimmed LBJ-style hat. Sanders graduated from and taught at Auburn University's famed Rural Studio and later received his graduate architecture degree from UT. But don't let him hear you call him an architect. That would connote a separate identity to his design mission, he says

Rather, Sanders wants to revive the collaborative and participatory aspects of architecture by tackling meaningful, community-oriented projects, while considering the climate, materials, trees, insects, wildlife, etc. of the specific area. “I feel more connected to it that way,” he says. “I can be intuitive about things, then my projects can almost be like sculpture or a dance.”

And while Sanders has a world-class education in architecture and has traveled the world, bringing others good design while indulging his appetite for adventure, with service trips to Brazil and Mexico, questions about “what we were doing as a developed society, sustainability and our ecological footprints” flowed from his head like an undammed river.

He saw that experts can’t just intuit a distant, disconnected problem in a remote place in the world. And the environmental and cultural facets of a specific place make projects more relevant, useful and beautiful. So Sanders, who founded Design Build Adventure in 2005, decided to dedicate himself to connecting communities through design by creating a distinct sense of place with his designs.

And his work, whether it’s the home of a senior Texas Monthly editor or an impoverished Alabama citizen, a stage for Mohawk or Hotel San Jose or a spiritual healing retreat in Marathon, a treehouse for director Richard Linklater or an Airstream trailer redesign for the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, manages to operate on the periphery of formal design — there are seemingly limitless possibilities.

The only rule of Design Build Adventure is that “we have to get to know each other,” Jack says. And whether or not it adds weeks or months to a project, building meaningful personal relationships is as important to Sanders than building any material design.

He deems his unique slow design approach as a “Sandlot philosophy,” which he cultivated during his time at the Rural Studio, building homes and communities facilities with recycled and donated materials for poverty-stricken residents of the forgotten rural, back country of Alabama. For his senior thesis, Sanders, who played baseball in high school and is still passionate about the sport, helped to dramatically redesign a historic baseball field in the area, but by the time he made the move to Austin, the design thesis had slowly developed into an all-encompassing lifestyle for the adventurous builder.

Sanders' Sandlot philosophy is essentially the belief that if you take the time to really look around and try to understand a place, it’s easy to create a powerful impact. There’s plenty to work on in your own backyard. And the unique approach to his professional designs allow for an immediate injection of good design into a community or environment in need.

And in a world where the concept of a “global architect” is becoming increasingly popular, what with outrageously lavish, futuristic buildings being constructed every year in Dubai amidst a background of billions of impoverished people in need of shelter, it’s refreshing to see Sanders’ uniquely local approach to architecture and meaningful design.

Sanders, who can still be found some weekends on a diamond playing with Texas Playboys Baseball Camp, an Austin-based “social aid and pleasure club” consisting of a rag-tag team of local artists and adventurers, including Dan Dyer, Amy Cook, photographer Dave Mead and Robert Gay of Thoughtbarn, embodies his Sandlot philosophy in every level and layer of his unique design approach and encourages others to practice the ideology in every day life.

His latest endeavor of seasonal Design Build Adventure Camps, a modern-day “learning vacation” for design lovers, is the perfect opportunity for the general public to hop on the Sandlot bandwagon.

Nothing is needed to apply to the four-day design camps but an interest in building something and a willingness to get your hands dirty and sweat a little in the Texas sun in the name of good design. “We’re not trying to save the world in three days,” Sanders says. “But it’s not just a repair job or installing one wheelchair ramp.” It’s more inventive and, like Sanders says, “intuitive.”

Not to worry, though. There’s plenty of great food, live music and freewheeling happy hours. Because Sanders believes that good design should embody the spirit of a place. So his design camps are always infused with a heavy dose of cultural inspiration.

For instance, last summer’s camp in Marfa was characterized by time at Food Shark, campfire chats at El Cosmico and one of the most common pastimes way out there in the West Texas desert — just sitting and watching the horizon. Participants included a diverse smattering of curious adventurers, from a photographer to a retired teacher from San Antonio to a design graduate student, Houston-based artist, local musician Dan Dyer (“He was great,” Sanders says. “His chair was beautiful.”) and even an 18-year-old Marfa resident.

This ragtag team, most of whom had never built anything before, all banded together and each created a “Cowboy Junkie Chair.” At the end of the four-day design safari, including scouring through a legitimate Cowboy Junkyard, they celebrated with a party at El Cosmico, which included a charity auction to sell their finished products, with all proceeds benefiting the West Texas Food Bank.

Sanders says he wants people to just do whatever is on their mind creatively, not to fret or waste time or energy on worrying because you’ll need it for a good day of hard work.

Don’t look over your shoulder too much. Don't become institutionalized. Just understand the context of your life.

And not to impose architecture on a community. Be a part of your community instead. One of the most rewarding aspects of the experience, Sanders says, was witnessing his “campers” as they fell in love with the first thing they had ever built. “It’s a distinct spirit,” he says. “To fall in love with something you build and I loved seeing that light up on their faces.”

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The second summer Camp Design Build Adventure is quickly approaching (June 5-10) and there are still a few spots left for any and all interested adventurers. Participants will complete a community project for a children’s park (Eastside Play) in Marfa, with accommodations (and most of the activities) hosted by El Cosmico. Sign up today!