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.
1. Look us up at the AIA National Convention. We've sent our friendliest staff to tend Booth #363 on the AIA Convention floor in Washington, DC, talk some shop and raffle a gorgeous Frank Ching sketch. So chill out for a spell at our sapphire Molo booth.
2. We've been hawking "I Love Architecture" apparel through May, but the order window closes this Monday, May 21; for those looking for the opportune moment to make your passionate purchase, that moment is now. SelflessTee is donating $7 (maybe more) to us for every tee, hoodie and upcycled tote sold bearing the three greatest words in the English language. Place an order, or ask us about bulk discounts on comfy uniforms for the entire office.
3. Speaking of love, we're still receiving I Love Architecture sketches @ HQ, images of which our Curatorial Cupid is uploading to a dedicated Tumblr. We're digging recent contributions from Williams & Tsien, Moshe Safdie, Paolo Soleri, Ball-Nogues and more...but maybe we'll just let the sketches do the talking.
4. Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! is open for registration. Don't miss the chance to join discussions from leading thinkers in the fields of disaster reconstruction, economic development and neighborhood security. Oh, did we mention it's right before Greenbuild?
5. Design Like You Give A Damn [2] (the book) was released to the world May 1. We've been excited and flattered by some wonderful reviews from veterans in sustainable and post-disaser design and construction, including Alex Steffen and Brad Pitt. Download the iPad-friendly Quick Look, or order the analog version on Amazon. It's worth your while.
Cheers,
The Architecture for Humanity Team
San Francisco | Port-au-Prince | Cape Town | Sendai
@archforhumanity | @casinclair | @DLYGAD
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| PROJECT UPDATES |
Africa: Football for Hope on the move: Cape Verde Design Fellow Ana Reis just relocated to Tarrafal, site of Football for Hope Center #16 is located. The center host, Delta Cultura Cabo Verde, focuses on using soccer and art to create a safe space for socioeconomically disadvantaged young people. Also, after long months of tendering and negotiations, construction has started at our project site in QwaQwa! DF George Kinuthia is overseeing foundation construction; the Center is slated to open in early September.
NIKE Gamechangers
New York's Coleman Oval Skatepark recently closed to the public for a dramatic upgrade. Builder and design collaborator California Skateparks has been hard at work and construction has gotten off to a good start. Coming up next: concrete comes to the Manhattan Bridge skatepark!
Gamechangers New Delhi has been compiled and shared with Architecture for Humanity HQ and community partner Magic Bus for their comments; the construction agreement will soon be signed between Magic Bus & Contractor and work is expected to finish within two months.
While the design for the Rio Floods Disaster Recovery is moving forward, the media has started to show interest in the disaster recovery project that is happening in Petrópolis - a reporter visited our site and asked for images of the project to be published in Rio's most important newspaper!
Japan: Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami Rebuilding
The Ohya Green Sports Park Signage project celebrated its opening workshop/ceremony. The beautiful signage by Mr. Higashi welcomes the visitors to the field, and Eisuke Nakanishi, a former Japanese national team member of the 1998 World Cup, attended as a special guest. We're resuming phase two of the Akahama Covered Alley project, and the Kitakami "We Are One" team is taking measurements on-site, and final design approval is imminent.
Haiti: Rebuilding Center
The Villa Rosa planning team has submitted their Priority One Design Package, and the rebuilding center has signed on Collège Coeur Immacule de Marie (CIM) in downtown Port-au-Prince as the latest school rebuilding project. Schematic design for the all-girls school is under way.
| OPEN ARCHITECTURE CHALLENGE |
510 teams, 71 countries, 1 goal. Registration closed for [UN]RESTRICTED ACCESS on May 1. Registrants hail from across the globe in our most nationally-diverse competition yet, and are working busily to get their designs online before June 1. Teams are following Facebook and Twitter feeds for meantime announcements such as Renzo Piano Building Workshop's late addition to the jury. Good luck, teams, in your remaining two weeks.
| CHAPTER UPDATES |
A Tribute to Suzanne Monaco
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of our chapter members, Suzanne Monaco. Some of you may have heard the news releases issued earlier: Suzanne was the victim of a traffic accident in San Francisco on May 6.
Suzanne was an active and much appreciated member of our chapter network community. She was currently participating on various chapter projects as well as the chapter's steering committee. Her energy and creativity was an inspiration to many around her. Her fellow chapter members came to admire Suzanne';s commitment to share her talent and expertise for the greater good of the San Francisco community. She shall be greatly missed.
We invite all chapter members planning to attend this year's AIA Convention Design Expo in Washington DC to stop by the Architecture for Humanity booth at the Walter E. Washington convention center from Thursday May 17th through Saturday May 19th. Drop by Booth #363 and meet our staff and Washington DC chapter members! And if you are based in our nation's capital city and want to get involved, the chapter is seeking volunteers for several new projects.
The Sioux Falls chapter, one of our Chapter Micro Grant recipient last year, has officially obtained a building permit for the Prototype Garden Shelter after a long haul with zoning and site issues. Excavation will start imminently and construction is estimated to be completed by June 1st. Check out the final drawings and follow the construction phases.
The Seattle chapter is starting the design phase of the revitalization of the city's South Park neighborhood. The neighborhood, deeply affected by the closure of a nearby bridge, is seeking to improve pedestrian traffic and shopping experience for the community.
The New York City chapter is holding a kick-off meeting for the Coleman Oval Skate Park. If you're interested in public urban design and pop-up art, this project may be for you.
Our Athens chapter has been solicited to create a temporary public space in the courtyard of the National Theater of Greece. The space, staged to hold a series of performances and events, will be open through May 20th and is a great example of urban space design using recycled materials.
After a hiatus, the San Francisco chapter is gearing up for a full plate of exciting projects. The chapter will be holding an open-door meeting on May 23rd at 6:30pm at our HQ office. If you are interested in participating in several public space projects, a design competition for the Fillmore area, the Students Rebuild program, or help with our architects-led AIA disaster response partnership, you'll want to attend this meeting.
| DESIGN OPPORTUNITIES & JOBS |
San Francisco Program Manager, Contracts Manager, Volunteer: Tohoku Rebuilding Program, Volunteer: Emergency Preparedness
Port-au-Prince Development Director, Construction Manager, Directeur/Planification et conception, Haiti Team Structural Engineer, Volunteer
Sendai 東北復興プログラム 現地プログラム・マネジャー募集要項, Design Fellow: Architecture, Design Fellow: Business, Design Fellow： 東北 （日本語必須）
| COMINGS, GOINGS & OTHER NEWS |
Welcome to some new members of our team at HQ! We're happy to count Project Accountant Kris Jong Product Web Developer for Worldchanging Jennifer Mattson among our ranks. Also, Suman Deep joined us this month as the Salesforce Developer.
We bid a sad farewell to Volunteer Services volunteer Jane Irwin who has served since January. We will miss you!
In other news, Community Builder and Pratt professor Yutaka Takiura has concluded his Pratt design studio that had students design temporary housing for the Minami Sanriku community in Japan. They had the final show/pin-up last week in a Manhattan showroom with the local chapter and it was a great success.
Special thanks to Mortar Net for donating funds as part of its participation in the AIA 2012 National Convention this weekend in Washington, D.C. Between now and May 19, the company will donate $30 for every person who registers at the company's website or at the Mortar Net AIA Convention booth #1701.
| EVENTS |
Architecture for Humanity's Weekly Design Open Mic (open house) When: Every Wed., 12 -1 pm | Where: 848 Folsom Street, Suite 201, San Francisco 2012 AIA Convention DesignExpo When: May 17-19, 2012 | Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, D.C.
Visit Architecture for Humanity at the AIA Convention's exhibition floor and meet some of our staff and local chapter members. You'll also be able to purchase an I Love Architecture t-shirt, books and put your name in the hat for a sketch! We will be at Booth #363, across from the AIA Town Hall.
Dwell on Design When: June 22-24, 2012 | Where: Los Angeles Convention Center
Architecture for Humanity will be on the tradeshow floor, selling some good ol' architecture love...and shirts. Come visit us and tell us why YOU love architecture and grab your t-shirt. Additionally, Cameron Sinclair and Design Like You Give a Damn [2] book contributors will be taking the stage!
OnDesign 2012 When: June 26-30, 2012 | Where: The Clark Kerr Campus at the University of California at Berkeley
Design Like You Give a Damn: LIVE! 2012 When: November 12-13, 2012 | Where: Autodesk Gallery, 1 Market Street #200 San Francisco, CA 94105
We're gearing up for our 3rd Annual humanitarian design forum and it's taking place in San Francisco this year right before Greenbuild. More details to come but Save the Date and start plotting your Design Open Mic submission for 7 minutes of fame. Interested in sponsoring? Contact us!
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