Yesterday was Day of the Girl, and we thought it apt to feature solution-finding work done by a group of students from the girls' school Coeur Immacule de Marie (CIM) in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Their workshop last July (a similar one was held for their teachers) helped inform what their main priorities are for their new school design by Architecture for Humanity. Although CIM isn't a Students Rebuild project, we thought this news exciting to share–and show how student work is helping define a better, more sustainable future for this learning community.
Collège Coeur Immacule de Marie celebrated it's 50th anniversary this year.
The school was completely destroyed in the earthquake. Now, 850 girls make do in temporary classrooms
Over the Summer, Architecture for Humanity held charrettes to reenvision the school, based on the schoolgoers' specific needs and desires...
A simple icebreaker quickly shows how the whole school is connected
In three groups, the girls brainstorm the attributes of an ideal school, quickly filling sheets of butcher paper
Time to vote–each student gets one...
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In a second break out session of new teams, the girls model the top
qualities netting the most votes. Groupe 1 worked with the Garden and
Multipurpose outdoor space
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Then the girls present their findings. Everyone was interested to know what
the other groups had imagined. Groupe 2 presented on personal lockers
and the infirmary
Group 3 posing with their work on vestiaires and science lab
The charrette report pairs the girls' findings with those of their instructors
The Haiti Rebuilding Center digests these priorities alongside building standards and passive design techniques
A three-story school, CIM can operate comfortably with no demand for electricity when ventilation encourages air movement
The Schematic Design treats the intimidating scale of the campus' needs
with a light, breezy touch. We're looking at a new (climate-responsive)
Haitian architecture
Now the girls' dreams are being put into action. Demolition is complete and foundations are being dug – http://bit.ly/WCh_CIM
