03-28-2012
Haiti: Mission Possible
Recently, I was fortunate enough to combine two of my passions: mentoring high school students and helping Haiti move forward in its recovery. This special occasion was made possible by a unique partnership between Stuyvesant High School in New York and the Architecture, Construction and Engineering Mentoring Program (ACE), which provides opportunities for students to work with real design and construction professionals in a real work environment.
For three months I had the pleasure of working with 22 students on a prototype campus for Les Moissonneurs de L'AMHE, a potential future elementary and high school for the city of Cap-Haitien and its surrounding community in northern Haiti. More than 1,300 schools were destroyed in Haiti's devastating earthquake in 2010, so our mission was to design a school campus that was innovative, sustainable, and could withstand seismic effects. We also had to accommodate over 1,500 students so campus components such as learning and resource centers, support spaces and student residences–which would eventually be the largest component of our design–were essential.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (campus design).
Our design process was a unique combination and collaboration between the students (ACE Team 22) and mentors, which included representative staff from FXFOWLE, RCDolner Construction, Turner Construction Company, and Halcrow Yolles. Our first few meetings explored the school's potential site, its context and environmental factors, such as Haiti's average temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover and rain fall. We also reviewed geographical maps for seismic fault lines, as well as watershed zones prone to flooding. Since our site was adjacent to the Labadee mountain range, we also conducted a thorough solar analysis to fully-comprehend the site's orientation in relation to our program distribution of classrooms, art/music classrooms, science labs, physical education gyms, auditorium, library, student services, administration offices, cafeteria, and student residences.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slides (solar analysis and program distribution).
To ensure we could organize and assemble this complex matrix of spaces we held a design charette, which resulted with half a dozen options for the best programmatic relationships. This exercise and the lively discussions that followed helped us formulate and organize our ideas more successfully. We realized that the elementary and the high school needed to be separated in certain areas, such as classrooms, but integrated in more social areas, such as the library, auditorium and cafeteria.
Conceptually, our source of inspiration for the Cap-Haitien campus was the "human hand." Symbolically hands represent aid, care, and embrace, all of which seemed fitting with the mission of our design and intent. Furthering this concept, we decided that the texture of skin would serve as an inspiration for the site's landscape, and the circulatory system and bone structure would inform the circulation throughout the campus. Lastly, the components of the hand, such as the palm, would serve as a symbol for the campus quad, a central green space.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (roof and ground floor plans).
Once the program was organized and the ground floor level was developed, the students were each assigned a different campus building or component to further investigate and design. We used IBC 2009 codes and other relevant standards, such as LEED for Schools 2009, Habitat for Humanity, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to inform our design. In addition to researching precedents, the students–many of which who were applying to colleges–took their own campus visits as an opportunity to research spatial conditions and amenities in order to inspire our design.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (library interior).
Although we met only once a week, these impressive and talented students worked tirelessly on this project. Their commitment was purposeful and real. This was such a successful mentoring partnership so many ways. I only hope they were as inspired by the project and the process as much as they inspired me to be a better designer.
Me with some of the students from Stuyvesant High School.
Our program was generously sponsored by Les Moissonneurs de L'Association des Medecins Haitian a l'Etrangier (Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad – New Jersey Chapter), whose mission is to provide aid and compassion to the country of Haiti by focusing on rebuilding its damaged school system. The organization has presented our project to its national committee, and is currently fundraising to make our campus design a reality.
We are honored that the project has been very well received, and that our final presentation was featured in the fall 2011 issue of the AIANY Oculus Magazine.
Since its founding in 1994, ACE has connected over 60,000 students with industry professionals. For more information on how you can support ACE, visit their website.
For three months I had the pleasure of working with 22 students on a prototype campus for Les Moissonneurs de L'AMHE, a potential future elementary and high school for the city of Cap-Haitien and its surrounding community in northern Haiti. More than 1,300 schools were destroyed in Haiti's devastating earthquake in 2010, so our mission was to design a school campus that was innovative, sustainable, and could withstand seismic effects. We also had to accommodate over 1,500 students so campus components such as learning and resource centers, support spaces and student residences–which would eventually be the largest component of our design–were essential.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (campus design).Our design process was a unique combination and collaboration between the students (ACE Team 22) and mentors, which included representative staff from FXFOWLE, RCDolner Construction, Turner Construction Company, and Halcrow Yolles. Our first few meetings explored the school's potential site, its context and environmental factors, such as Haiti's average temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover and rain fall. We also reviewed geographical maps for seismic fault lines, as well as watershed zones prone to flooding. Since our site was adjacent to the Labadee mountain range, we also conducted a thorough solar analysis to fully-comprehend the site's orientation in relation to our program distribution of classrooms, art/music classrooms, science labs, physical education gyms, auditorium, library, student services, administration offices, cafeteria, and student residences.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slides (solar analysis and program distribution).To ensure we could organize and assemble this complex matrix of spaces we held a design charette, which resulted with half a dozen options for the best programmatic relationships. This exercise and the lively discussions that followed helped us formulate and organize our ideas more successfully. We realized that the elementary and the high school needed to be separated in certain areas, such as classrooms, but integrated in more social areas, such as the library, auditorium and cafeteria.
Conceptually, our source of inspiration for the Cap-Haitien campus was the "human hand." Symbolically hands represent aid, care, and embrace, all of which seemed fitting with the mission of our design and intent. Furthering this concept, we decided that the texture of skin would serve as an inspiration for the site's landscape, and the circulatory system and bone structure would inform the circulation throughout the campus. Lastly, the components of the hand, such as the palm, would serve as a symbol for the campus quad, a central green space.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (roof and ground floor plans).Once the program was organized and the ground floor level was developed, the students were each assigned a different campus building or component to further investigate and design. We used IBC 2009 codes and other relevant standards, such as LEED for Schools 2009, Habitat for Humanity, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to inform our design. In addition to researching precedents, the students–many of which who were applying to colleges–took their own campus visits as an opportunity to research spatial conditions and amenities in order to inspire our design.
ACE Team 22 Final Presentation Slide (library interior).Although we met only once a week, these impressive and talented students worked tirelessly on this project. Their commitment was purposeful and real. This was such a successful mentoring partnership so many ways. I only hope they were as inspired by the project and the process as much as they inspired me to be a better designer.
Me with some of the students from Stuyvesant High School.Our program was generously sponsored by Les Moissonneurs de L'Association des Medecins Haitian a l'Etrangier (Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad – New Jersey Chapter), whose mission is to provide aid and compassion to the country of Haiti by focusing on rebuilding its damaged school system. The organization has presented our project to its national committee, and is currently fundraising to make our campus design a reality.
We are honored that the project has been very well received, and that our final presentation was featured in the fall 2011 issue of the AIANY Oculus Magazine.
Since its founding in 1994, ACE has connected over 60,000 students with industry professionals. For more information on how you can support ACE, visit their website.
