Chapter Projects

When the public bath(On-sen) was closed at the heisei no mori temporary housing area in minami sanriku the residents found themselves in need of a replacement. Hiroto Kobayashi of Keio University was invited to create a two phase project with his students to satisfy that need. The first phase will include a community meeting place with a small bath area, and the second phase will include the bath house (on sen). One of the challenges facing reconstruction efforts in the areas is a marked lack of carpenters and of sophisticated materials and equipment. To overcome that challenge the structure of both phases of the project is formed from plywood panels that can be cut on site and assembled without special skills and using only basic tools and hardware, including hammers, nails, and saws. The entire project can be prepared and assembled by un-skilled volunteer labor and by the residents themselves. The first phase of the project has already begun on site with financial support of the Environmental Innovators Program at Keio University and is expected to be complete by February 2012. The second phase is expected to begin in early spring of 2012 with help from architecture for humanity tokyo chapter and will be run by a local organization afterwards. donations for the project are very welcome.

This project is a Cultural Center in the city of Lamas, in northern Peru. Lamas is known as the Folk Capital of the Peruvian Amazon and is inhabited by indigenous people who speak the Quechua language. The Los Angeles chapter of Architecture For Humanity is partnering with LALESA, Inc., a Los Angeles based non-profit organization founded by architect Sandra Burga.

Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC) is a nonprofit organization that helps China’s urban migrant children, primarily through offering social and educational programs. This organization strategically builds community centers in the heart of migrant neighborhoods where they offer programs for migrant children and their family. CMC is working with Architecture For Humanity (AFH)-Shanghai Chapter to put up a community center in Beijing which will be the first modular/mobile container center even though they’ve opened 7 community centers in migrant slums in China and Nepal. Architecture for Humanity is another non-profit organization that consists of network of professionals who are willing to lend time, design service, expertise to help those who would not otherwise be able to afford their services and thus bring design, construction and development services where they are most critically needed. This organization has various chapters around the world through which they operate their activities. Now, CMC is interested to open a similar community center made from customized container for the migrant children and their communities in Dhaka. In this connection, they have contacted Architecture For Humanity Dhaka chapter. According to our first meeting with the Chairperson of Architecture Department, BRAC University, Dr. Fuad H. Mallick and also a senior advisor of AFH-Dhaka chapter, we have some concern that the module that have been implemented at china may not be feasible at Bangladesh’s context. So we should first conduct a feasibility study in cooperation with the user group about the potential construction method for the possible community centre in Bangladesh. AFH-Dhaka sets out a partnership with CMC to conduct a research on the type and appropriateness of the facility. It particularly focuses on expert assessment for a cost-effective solution through survey, finding potential source and cost analysis of shipping container, communication with local metal workers for refurbishing the containers or find potential options other than shipping containers if the study reveals that they are not feasible. In the end, locate a probable community who would be willing to have a facility made from container which will be then monitored and evaluated over a period. Parameters for the required facility are quality, mobile, flexible, affordable, and scalable. final outcome will be a prototype design of CMC Community Cube for Bangladesh and help CMC to implement those community centre. Compassion for Migrant Children has already launched the Community Cubes model in China, is currently setting it up in Nepal, and is expanding to Bangladesh now as well. CMC goal is to see 100 community centers opened around the globe.

The Homeless Shift Project is a grassroots initiative to create a positive, measurable difference in the condition of homelessness in New York City and beyond. Like many rural and urban areas throughout the globe today, New York City experiences exponentially high rates of homelessness. This is especially exacerbated by the challenges posed by the current economic climate and the scarcity of affordable, healthful housing within the city. In closely examining contemporary homelessness in New York City, as well as the diverse models of aid currently in place, it is evident that the provision of shelter in and of itself is not a sustainable solution. Rather, to provide realistic responses for ending homelessness, the contributing causes of the problem must also be addressed as a priority. This project was created as a community partnership that would examine how homelessness is approached within the local community and which would develop new, sustainable and replicable models of engaging homelessness and human needs. This project began as a community partnership with a shelter that serves homeless women with a history of mental illness and substance abuse. Through giving their homeless clients access to sustainable, affordable housing, comprehensive health and social services, and opportunities for personal growth, this shelter is one of the highest-ranking shelters in New York City. However, the New York City Shelter System is greatly challenged by the rate of “recidivism,” which is defined as when someone is placed within housing but later returns to the shelter system. Some of the barriers that are identified as linked to recidivism have included minimal to no skills for daily living, such as cooking or managing finances, and very negative experiences living with others. As a result, many women often turn down shared housing opportunities and wait for one where they can live on their own. Unfortunately, these opportunities are scarce in New York City. In order to address this challenge, many interventions have been adopted to promote and maintain wellness and Critical Time Intervention and Relapse Prevention as a case management model that identifies and utilizes various levels of support. Through this project, we have built upon these practices and identified how design advocacy can be incorporated to further strengthen these goals. To target the barriers linked to recidivism, we developed an “apartment prototype” to be built within the existing shelter. The women will live in this space for +/- 3 months in small groups directly before moving out into their housing placement. The apartment will act as a teaching and learning space for the women to strengthen their skills for daily living and gain experience in effective, responsible problem solving in order to reduce the quantity and severity of setbacks or challenges they will face while living independently. The model apartment will also give the women the opportunity to see the positive aspects of living with another person and encourage them to take advantage of shared housing, both as an economically viable option and as an opportunity to develop an additional support network within their new home environment. Finally, the apartment seeks to reconnect the women with a sense of permanence and “home,” and provides them with a space in which they can learn to make adjustments to their immediate environment to create a space that matches and supports their goals for their new life beyond the shelter. This “model apartment,” in addition to the pilot program to be built at a local shelter, is a replicable prototype designed to be easily modified to serve the diverse homeless populations throughout New York City (and beyond). Links and Captions: © Emily Sprague, © Shannon Beck, © Sara Bayer (as noted) © WKSHP (renderings) All Rights Reserved Project Details: Date(s): 2008 to present Client: A local women's shelter, Homeless populations of New York City and beyond Concept/Lead Designer(s): Emily Sprague Project Designer(s): Shannon Beck, Sara Bayer Additional Consultants: Rigoberto Almaguer, Lisa Trub, Brooke Smith, Becky Labov, and other AFHny volunteers