UPCOMING EVENTS
PechaKucha for Haiti, February 20, at MIT. See the event page to register and for more details. We will be presenting slides provided by Architecture for Humanity. Read more about this global event at the main PechaKucha for Haiti site.
Karaoke for Haiti at Charlie's Kitchen in Harvard Square. We are sponsoring a Karaoke for Haiti Night on Tuesday, March 9, at 8:00pm. Come down and see us make fools of ourselves to raise money for Haiti!
Our fifth annual 5k will be Saturday, May 1, 10:00a.m. at Artesani Park! There is plenty of time to get in shape and come run with us! You can register online now. We also need volunteers to help out with organizing, securing entertainment and refreshments, and designing this year's t-shirt – email michael@afhb.org.
COMPETITIONS
USGBC – Natural Talent Competition: The USGBC and Salvation Army have teamed up to sponsor a design competition for a small, green, affordable 800sf (max) residence for an elderly couple in the Broadmoor area of New Orleans. We would like to put together a team or two for this competition. See the website at the Open Architecture Network for more details.
We can put together student teams, emerging professional teams, or mixed teams, and judging from the interest at the meeting, may be able to do more than one! At least one member of the group is working on another New Orleans project for school, and is planning to visit the area again soon. Email info@afhb.org to let us know you want to join a team.
PROJECTS
Haiti Earthquake & Upward Bound: We are planning to work on an emergency shelter project with students of Upward Bound. We are going to build a geodesic dome structure using bamboo, wire tires, and fabric. This will be a demonstration/learning project for building a sturdy structure fast out of cheap materials. We are going to try to have it ready to set up at the 5k on May 1.
Boston University – Kenya project: We got a detailed presentation from a student group at BU that would like to work with us to find a solution to a serious health problem faced by a group of extremely poor people living in Kitale, Kenya. They are living in housing built from whatever materials they can find (trash, mostly), and have no solid flooring. This leads to their feet becoming infested with a parasitic arthropod called a jigger; this can lead to severe disfigurement, inability to walk, and additional infections. We need to do research to figure out what kinds of materials these people have access to, and how those materials can be used to provide flooring in their shelters that will keep the jiggers out. One of the students has already spent time in Kitale providing medical support, and she will be traveling there again this summer.
Long Way Home – Guatemala: Erika Temple is back in Guatemala, working on the rammed earth tire school project.
AIAS – Accessibility: A local AIAS chapter is looking for a project with an accessibility project. One possibility is to work with a school to make their swimming pool accessible. We may do a field trip to this site when the weather gets a little warmer.
Nyaya Health – Bayalpata Hospital: Nyaya Health has moved into the hospital; we will continue to work with them to program their expansion into the remaining buildings on site. During a previous meeting, we learned that one of the great benefits they are providing is free health care to women and their children.
Tanzania School Project: AfHB is working with a nonprofit called Chris Cares that is planning to build a school in Tanzania. We are working on researching Arusha, Tanzania, and a preliminary program.
90 Windsor Street Community Center: We have been working with the United Neighbors of Lower Roxbury to redesign their abandoned building at 90 Windsor St. into a revitalized Community Center. We are working to finish up the Design Development package that UNLR will use for fundraising and to request proposals from architects to develop the project through construction documents. We are putting together two sets of documents: one simple plan, so that they can go forward with a basic version of the project even if it does not get full funding, and one fully developed plan, with all of the features they want.
OTHER THINGS
One of our members brought a couple of books to pass around to help people get ideas for design – we want to have a section on the website to keep track of such resources. And now we do! We need more items for it! The Open Architecture Network was also mentioned as a great resource.
