The AfH Haiti team is conducting soils testing at a new school campus site in Port-au-Prince. We've brought in a French team of soils experts who are taking core samples at the site. The tripod helps drive a 10-20' pile into the earth, which, when pulled out preserves the order of layers of soil students will soon be standing over. This core sample is taken to a makeshift soils lab where core samples from several places around the site are reviewed.

The soil consistency determines how deep foundations must go to support the school buildings. It will also determine how large the buildings can be, although that is less of a concern when all new schools in Haiti are required to have two or fewer stories.

Original article on Students Rebuild

Congratulations to former Design Fellow Susi Jane Platt (2005-2007), UN Habitat and the Pinsara Federation of Community Development Councils whose project, The Yodakandiya Community Complex* in Sri Lanka, is one of nineteen buildings been short-listed for the Aga Khan Award for Architecture, one of the highest honors in the architectural world.

In partnership with KPFF Consulting Engineers and us, AIDG began coordinating trainings in confined masonry construction techniques in Port-au-Prince, Jacmel and Léogâne. The techniques developed in South America partially explain how the Feb 27th 8.8 earthquake in Chile (700 times stronger than the Haiti quake) caused considerably less damage.

日本の皆様、こんにちは。
本日NHKの「MISSION」で「Architecture for Humanity」が取り上げられました。ご覧になられた方はいらっしゃいますでしょうか。
 
「Architecture for Humanity」の設立者であり代表でもあるキャメロン・シンクレアは、建築の社会貢献について日本でも積極的な取り組みが始まることを期待しています。 建築の力を社会的な課題の解決に利用しようとする彼の取り組みに賛同した私達は、今年の5月9日にその東京支部である「Architecture for Humanity TOKYO」の設立準備会を組織しました。
 
このwebサイトやテレビをご覧になって Architecture for Humanity Tokyoの活動に興味を持たれた方は、以下のメールアドレスまでご連絡ください。
 

A warm welcome to all the NHK viewers from Japan that saw our work on the program Mission. Please have a look around the site, see our latest projects, find a local chapter (Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto) and make a donation towards building a difference in the lives of others.

Darren Gill, our design fellow in the show, is hard at work in Uganda. The site has been cleared and the team is starting construction on the first of eight schools. He will be in country until the end of the summer before heading home or possibly off to Haiti to help rebuild that country.

Thank you for your interest in our organization and do let us know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Cheers
Cameron Sinclair, Co-founder and chief eternal optimist.

We want to extend a warm welcome to Paul Gabie, Narry Singh and Margaret Stewart, who recently joined our Board of Directors. Each will bring a breadth of knowledge and expertise to Architecture for Humanity, and we are pleased to have them as part of our team. Paul Gabie is Senior Vice President with RF Chandler, Narry Singh is Chairman and CEO at The Intellidex Group and Margaret Stewart is User Experience Manager at YouTube/Google. We look forward to collaborating with them as our organization enters the second decade of sustainable community design.

Architecture for Humanity is calling for small grant proposals to rebuild in areas affected by Typhoon Ketsana/Ondoy in the Philippines, Vietnam or Cambodia.

If you're a nonprofit or designer working in the affected areas with rebuilding projects that are in need of additional funds, we may be able to help.

Please read the project guidelines here.

We are happy to speak with you about your specific needs so email us if you would like to find out more.