The Haiti Team of Architecture for Humanity runs three reconstruction programs out of their office in Port-au-Prince. These efforts are aimed at coordinating and collaborating with local professionals, educational institutions and other NGOs, training and educating professionals and building owners and directing the design and construction of primary and secondary schools. Architecture for Humanity intends to transfer ongoing operations to Haitian hands within five years.
Haiti School Initiative
The Haiti School Initiative focuses on the design and construction of at least 10 primary and secondary schools across Haiti. Designs will emphasize hurricane- and earthquake-proof construction, climate sensitive/passive cooling techniques, community-centered design and development, local materials and the stimulation of local economies.
Haiti Rebuilding Center
The Rebuilding Center liaises between local design and construction communities, foreign NGOs and international university collaborators. The Center hosts a monthly Open House in Pétionville to foster dialogue and is coordinating partnerships between UPENN, Columbia, Parsons, the University of Minnesota and Université d'État d'Haiti and Université Quisqueya, among others. The Rebuilding Center engages in micro-planning projects and lend its design and construction expertise toward various smaller projects around Port-au-Prince.
Professional Training Program
The Rebuilding Center is additionally a one-stop shop for technical assistance, education and training for Haitian building owners and construction and design professionals.
Current Projects
View Architecture for Humanity Haiti Projects in a larger map
Haiti School InitiativeSeverin School
Outside Maissade, Artibonite. The Severin School has been under construction for several years and is not yet complete. The school provides education to 257 students–approximately 4 classes of 60 students each. The school seeks remediation of any damage on the existing classroom block and provision of two additional classrooms and new latrines. Status: under construction
Good Shepherd of Montrouis
Montrouis, Ouest. We were asked to inspect a school in a coastal town north of Port-au-Prince. College Mixte Bon Berger ("Good Shepherd School") is a six classroom, 12-grade school built just a few years ago that nevertheless must be entirely replaced. A new scheme is to include rain water catchment and handicap accessibility. Status: schematic design
École Baptiste Bon Berger
Pele, Port-au-Prince, Ouest. A two-storey critically damaged school requires a replacement with improved ventilation and sanitary restrooms. Status: schematic design
École Dignité
Cayes de Jacmel, Sud-est. The only free private school in the Jacmel area serves 227 students and seeks to launch a secondary school program for 90 students, requiring a two-classroom expansion. Status: schematic design
Haiti Rebuilding CenterHouse for Marie
LaRousse, Ouest. Handicap accessible house for a family of 14. Status: Schematic design
Haiti Rebuilding 101 Manual
A concise 32-page graphic manual of recommendations for seismic and hurricane resistant buildings. Free to download, print and distribute!
School Assessments Hub
Architecture for Humanity has been structurally assessing schools on an invitational basis since March. All construction projects begin with an assessment and in some cases continued involvement is not required.
Professional Training Program
AIDG Assessment & Mason Training
The Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group conducted a preliminary round of mason training sessions through a grant from Architecture for Humanity. These sessions trained 600 masons who have since reported back progresses in practice. What could Round 2 yield?
Update August 2010
New Office Space and 1st monthly Meet n Greet
Friday night July 30 saw Architecture for Humanity staff and volunteers talking shop with Haitian architects, builders, college faculty and fellow NGO's. They were celebrating, in part, their new office space in Pétionville, Port-au-Prince. Curious third-partiers joined around 50 invited members of the local design and construction community in enjoying some hors d'oeurves, a beverage and each other's company. Decorations were sparse–folding chairs had been drawn into circles while a projector reenacted the construction of the clinic platform. A small stereo played a hodgepodge of Haitian standards, but was mostly drowned out by conversation.
The inaugural ''Meet-n-Greet'' marked the first in an ongoing series of open houses at the Haiti team office. Monthly conversations and lectures are planned to promote education, participation and collaboration in Haiti's reconstruction.
Contact haitirebuild@architectureforhumanity.org to schedule appointments at the office in Pétionville. Meet n Greets are scheduled for the last Friday of every month.
StudentsRebuild Update
Monday August 23 marked the closing for first round applications to the Haiti Schools Initiative Grant through StudentsRebuild.
Middle and high school teams across and beyond North America are now in their fourth month of fundraising for Haitian school construction–funds to be matched 1:1 by the Bezos Family Foundation. The student teams are now ready to evaluate the applicant schools to select which will be awarded funding. Bios for the schools have been collected on the Haiti Schools Initiative Page. A short list will be whittled down for September and the new (North American) school year. The recipients will be announced by the start of Haiti's school year October 1. Stay tuned to the StudentsRebuild Field Notes blog for progress throughout the next month.
StudentsRebuild partners Global Nomads Group and Curriki are finalizing a year-long international curriculum on Haiti reconstruction. The curriculum's first year will cover aspects of culture, reconstruction, and international aid. Students at Haitian and international schools alike will be greatly rewarded by the content and video conferencing format.
Haiti Team Welcomes Design Fellow Stacey McMahan
Monday August 9 was the first day in Port-au-Prince for Stacey McMahan, our USGBC Design Fellow. As Principal and Green Studio Director at Koch Hazard, Stacey has worked on a wide variety of projects, dedicated to creating energy efficient and high performance buildings. She helped create two green non-profits and is the editor of the AIA South Dakota Chapter magazine. Stacey received her Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University and is also LEED accredited and a member of the AIA. Stacey will be working with Architecture for Humanity for the next year incorporating sustainable principles into our Haitian schools–awesome.
Seeking to expand our team
We're expanding our team, seeking a Mac-Guyver-esque Design Fellow to work alongside a partner NGO to head any number of design challenges including tent and shelter raising, disaster and flood mitigation, micro-urban planning, community outreach, schematic design, preparing construction documents, skills training and construction supervision. Got a trusty pocket knife?
We are also looking for someone to be a Haiti school design fellow, someone with knowledge of Haitian vernacular building methods and a command of Haitian Creole. This person will be working very closely with a rural community on several school projects. Ou renmen vwazen ou yo?
STAY INFORMED: Reports from the ground and other news are compiled in a monthly Progress Report that we distribute on an opt-in basis. To subscribe to the Haiti team Progress Report, send a request via the "Contact Us" form on the Architecture for Humanity web site (set category: Haiti Rebuilding). These reports are released mid-month.
(You can now follow the newly-christened "Gro Kay Disko" on facebook!) What's a Gro Kay Disko?
GET INVOLVED: Interested in volunteering? Architecture for Humanity recruits volunteers for their Haiti office and San Francisco headquarters on an on-going basis. Volunteers will help train and provide design services to the rebuilding community. Volunteers in the field are expected to commit at least 3-4 weeks, pay for their own travel and provide their own computing/drafting/designing equipment. Architecture for Humanity will be provide lodging for all volunteers at the Haiti Team House in Pétionville.
Check out our Haiti Volunteer Overview which articulates our volunteer expectations and application process. Send questions to Get Involved.
Profound thanks to the following groups who have made these programs possible:
The U.S. Green Building Council
Adobe
Clinton Global Initiative Haiti Action Network
Digicel
Curry Stone Foundation
The American Institute of Architects
