Happy Spring. The ground's finally thawing in Tohoku, and kids are taking pride and slide (tackles) in recovered public spaces. As you draw up plans for a Spring weekend, we've got 5 things you may want to to work into your agenda.

In 2011, the people at BAR Architects, an architecture firm located in San Francisco, felt called to help the people of Haiti in rebuilding after the earthquake. To make this desire to help a reality, they partnered closely with Architecture for Humanity and pooled their vacation time in order to send nine architects to Haiti. In this Design Open Mic session, four of the architects on this project share their experience in Haiti, the design for Haiti Partner's Children's Academy, and construction methods leveraging local talent and material.

The American Institute of Architects 2012 Convention is in full swing right now and through the weekend - and Architecture for Humanity is posed to meet, greet and spread the love of architecture.

Booth #363 is hard to miss. The deep blue enclosure designed by Vancouver's Molo Studio curates our Spring campaign - see sketches donated by your favorite architects (details below), pick up a Cameron-signed copy of Design Like You Give a Damn [2], and net an advanced print of our "I Love Architecture" tee shirts.

If you're attending the Convention this weekend, find us "on the floor" - booth details:

The spring finally arrived in Tohoku, and we're ready to resume the phase two of the Akahama Covered Alley project.

Finally, after long months of tendering and negotiations, construction has started at our project site in QwaQwa! The QwaQwa Football for Hope Center, is getting its foundations built right now and should be completed in early September.

Architecture for Humanity Board Member and Technology Chair Representative, Scott Mattoon, shared the structure and function of the board, and ideas for further strengthening the connection between the Architecture for Humanity staff and the Board of Directors at last week's Design Open Mic.

During Architecture for Humanity's weekly Design Open Mic (April 18, 2012), Peter Cohen, from the Council of Community Housing Organizations, poses questions related to development, growth, and design. Peter presents that green development projects and smart growth development policy should have socially equitable benefits. The Council of Community Housing Organizations ask the question in their work: who benefits from the plans and policies and investments that drive green projects and smart growth development, and who potentially is negatively impacted or excluded from those benefits?

We have two weeks to sell our shirts.

The I Love Architecture t-shirt by SelflessTee will be on the market for two weeks, from May 7 - 21, 2012. Selfless at built a campaign to land us a donation for every tee ordered in this window.