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Haiti Rebuilding Team June UPDATE
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY HAITI TEAM PROGRESS REPORT, JUNE 2010
Howdy Folks
May delivered a predictably unpredictable melange of news for Haiti and our crew working on the ground. The hazards of rain became critical for work as well as that of our ever-growing community of NGO's. But we've had an equal share of pleasant surprises and promising developments.
SCHOOL PROGRESS IN PAP
We are on track to open the first phase of an ambitious secondary school campus for children of Cité Soleil, one of the largest slums in the world, located in Port-au-Prince. The campus, to be run by a long-time Haitian community activist and champion of children's health in Cité Soleil, is planned to be the largest secondary school in the city. It will play a leading role bringing older children back to school, as very few of them would complete secondary school before the quake.
The ground team has conducted soils studies while HQ has been working on the multi-phase master plan. The project, sited on 10 acres is looking at a 3,700 m2 program with the first phase slated to open in October. Visit the Cité Soleil Campus page for more information.
TEAM HELPS BUILD WOMEN'S CLINIC PLATFORM
This last week a women's clinic in the community of Pétionville got a face lift. Or rather a floor lift. Our team was on site helping build a platform for the clinic, which was under threat of flooding as the structures were set up on the bare ground. Completion was delayed several days due to rain but the clinic is now operating at a higher level. Photos of the projects are on our Haiti Rebuilding page on the Open Architecture Network.
DESIGN FELLOWS, DESIGN FELLOWS
Architecture for Humanity welcomes Lyndia Mesidor, who joined our team early last month as the newest Design Fellow on our Port-au-Prince team. Lyndia was born in Montreal Canada to two Haitian parents and grew up in Miami, Florida. She initially came to Haiti for three months to help Haitian architect Yves Francois (see below), where she met the AfH team and was asked to stick around. Lyndia decided to put off grad school to work with the Haiti as a design fellow. We're excited to have her working with us in Port-au-Prince.
We still have design fellow position open for those with green design experience and a command of Haitian Creole. Check out the job board for more information!
AFH TRANSITIONAL/LOCAL PROPOSAL REACHES UN WEBSITE
AfH had developed a transitional school scheme relying on locally-sourced materials. The project has been featured on the United Nations cluster resource site One Response as a downloadable pdf.Transitional school OAN page
THE BUILD BACK BETTER COMMUNITIES (BBBC) PREFAB EXPO RFP
If you've got a prefab design you think would be excellent in Haiti, then this RFP is for you! The Government of Haiti has enlisted the help of AfH and British architecture firm Malcolm Reading to hold a design competition Expo for prefabricated housing solutions. The RFP calls out to housing manufacturers, contractors, material suppliers, NGOs, construction consutlants, architects, designers and others to submit prefab designs for consideration for Exposition at a site outside Port-au-Prince, for immediate evaluation and construction. The Expo is set to launch in October and requires designs submitted by Friday, June 25. The RFP is currently going through final approval with the Government of Haiti and will be release in the next few days. Direct queries to BBBC@malcolmreading.co.uk
VOLUNTEERING IN PORT-AU-PRINCE
The Port-au-Prince team has begun accepting volunteers to help our efforts–at this point we've recruited a handful of folks gracious enough to lend their time and expertise.
We can only run a small volunteer force at the moment. We are looking for individuals with experience building in post-disaster situations and licensed professionals. Volunteers stay at the Maison, but they must cover their travel and living expenses.
For those who have submitted applications we ask for patience as we cross-check applicants with our evolving needs.
Tommy Stewart, AIA AICP LEED AP, of Ft Worth, has been with us on the ground for the past five weeks providing incredible help, wisdom and enthusiasm for our projects, and giving his own personal training coursed on stair and platform framing! On behalf of the Haiti team, many profound thanks Tommy!
Those interested on volunteering should fill out our volunteer application form to be reviewed by our team in Port-au-Prince. Again, we are being very selective, so do not get discouraged if you are not selected to work with us. If your thirst to help Haiti goes unabated you may want to investigate Hands on Disaster Response and similar organizations who with a larger capacity for volunteers. Also: join your local AfH chapter, as we will begin coordinating Haiti design projects with our chapter network!
Please direct your inquiries to haitivolunteer@
IN THE NEWS
Check out June's Architectural Record for a write-up on Haiti and a featurette on our Haiti team, an Architectural Record interview with team member and Haitian architect Yves Francois, as well as the June 2010 A+U for an Architecture for Humanity essay on the ongoing work in Haiti!
For more of our work, be sure to visit the Reconstruction page We also post regular updates onStudentsRebuild. Thanks everyone for your continued interest and compassion!
The Haiti Team
Architecture for Humanity