ISPAN has been working to save historic structures in and around Port-au-Prince. They are urgently working to save their culture, one brick at a time but concerned that they are losing for lack of support:

From one of their directors: "One more historical architectural treasure ISPAN could not save because of lack of means to intervene. It was bulldozed yesterday. We could have saved it. built in 1876. This is the fifth historical structure in Port-au-Prince which we lost simply for lack of funds. (and what funds...)

When we plead for the structures NOT to be destroyed and can do nothing to preserve them, this is what happens. This is how we lose our memory, this is, one church, one fort, one house at a time , how we loose our very identity..."

Monique Rocourt, ISPAN

What can you say in 140 characters?

Paul Scheer and Rob Huebel welcomed 140 Twitter-ers from the world of comedy, music, sports, and entertainment to the Upright Citizens Brigade stage to each perform a signature tweets in front of a live audience.

140 performers, one night only, one cause - build schools in Haiti

Now you can pre-order the DVD or watch the video instantly on Amazon.com or download the video on iTunes.

Yves, one of our architects on our Haiti team recently paid a visit to Cité Soleil–an extremely impoverished neighborhood of Port-au-Prince–to evaluate the conditions of schools affected by the quake. Of the three schools inspected, two have suffered some damage but can be restored, while a third was found to be extremely hazardous and must be demolished.

Let us remember that more than 4000 classrooms have been destroyed by this tragic earthquake. To allow the future leaders of Haiti the best opportunity to perform it is vital to build educational facilities safe, sustainable and efficient structures.

As our Haiti team wraps their initial tasks in Port-au-Prince, other reports from the ground continue to detail a picture of current conditions. We've collected here a few recent articles on Haiti–links to the Seattle Times, Inter Press Service (a non-profit global newswire out of Rome), and Haiti en March (brief articles in French discussing resettlement and structural inspections).

2 months after Haiti quake, housing still elusive. Ben Fox & Jonathan M. Katz, AP. Seattle Times, 12 March 2010.

HAITI: Earthquake Epicentre Copes with Aftermath. Garry Pierre-Pierre. Port-au-Prince: Inter Press Service, 1 March 2010.

HAITI: Universities Feel Strain After Earthquake. Garry Pierre-Pierre. Port-au-Prince: Inter Press Service, 1 February 2010.

(Two more after break)

Our Haiti team has sent us some benchmarking pricing. Haiti has been suffering from inflation for the past several years but the Jan 12 earthquake has exacerbated the situation.

These figures not only reflect the economic seclusion from–despite its proximity to–the United States, but also show how food aid is influencing the cost of some products and not others. Bread costs $1.25, half what it would cost in the United States, while milk, popular cereals and construction materials fetch 2-3 times their price in the United States. Following are observed Haitian vs Californian prices for select goods:

Food and material prices, Haiti and United States (in $US)

Supplies–Haiti/United States

Gallon of water–$1.25/$0.88
Gallon of milk–$12.00/$3.75
Loaf of bread (20oz)–$1.25/$2.50
One dozen eggs–$4.00/$3.19

Haitian children are languishing in camps or working in menial jobs because thousands of schools in and around Port-au-Prince, the devastated capital, could remain closed for months or never reopen. Markeny Saint Valin, 10, with his grandmother, Luciene St. Louis, washing clothes in Port-au-Prince.

News Article: Among the Ruins, Education Is Also Lost

Photo: Lynsey Addaro for The New York Times

Starting today we will be collecting funds on behalf of the Colegio de Arquitectos to support Chilean professionals endeavors after the 8.8 earthquake.

Formal structural assessment training for volunteers starts in a few hours and almost 700 architects have volunteered at Plataforma Arquitectura plus an additional 300 directly at the Colegio.

Donate directly to the Chile Earthquake Reconstruction Fund

Image of Iglesia Corazón de María de Linares, photo by Daniela Gajardo