This first project is just the second floor of a guest house a group called Mission of Hope was building. The first floor was already under construction when I arrived. The director of the mission took me onto the first floor ceiling/current roof and asked to come up with and idea for the second floor. The limitations for this we're designing within bounds established by the first floor. The rebar coming through the slab told me where columns can be, and the pvc pipes told me where water and septic can run. The large hole in the photo is where two stair sets are going to be, each going the way opposite of the other, so circulation was also predetermined. In a strange way working on this was kind of like doing Hejduk's 9 square grid project.
The suites are one room with a bathroom attached. The bathrooms are all in a row at the back, this will make running the water and septic easier. The really interesting thing about building in Haiti is the relationship with the builder. Much more faith is placed in the builder than in the states. Everything in America is all about contracts, liability, and preventing yourself from being sued, but in Haiti without such fears, there is a healthier relationship between architect and builder. This drawing I did with a tape measure and piece of plywood for a straight edge will come back manifested in built form. Note the way the rebar from the columns comes through the slab. In Haiti everyone leaves that on the roof instead of trimming it off. By doing this they don't have to pay taxes on their building because its "unfinished".
This next project is a small 14 x 20 foot house. It has just begun construction, when finished about 10 people will be living there. This house will be for a really poor family that our mission is helping out. Note some of the details about the construction. Columns and beams are cast in place concrete with cmu infill. You can see some of the things being done for earthquake prevention. An additional lintel/bond beam are placed between each floor. Everywhere a slab and column intersect a concrete triangle is created with a piece of steel in it. This is really cheap to do, you can normally do this with your rebar scraps. Our orphanage learned how to do this by watching the discovery channel. All the earthquake proofing measures are simply ways to create lateral stability, how to minimize movement when the earth shakes.
Through this model we were able to do a cost estimate by knowing how many blocks and feet of steel will be used. The most expensive thing about building in Haiti is foundation cost. So for not much money we added a small loft for the children to sleep on. The building is oriented on the site so that the wind will travel up the slope of the roof, creating a Bernoulli effect to more effectively cool the building. Wind passing more rapidly on top will pull out the hot air that gathers at the top of the house. Note the louvers shown in the section, this is vented block, a precast building unit used often in Haiti. They allow air to pass through while keeping water out.
The most exciting project I worked on was the new orphanage for the Grand Goave site. Construction has begun on this, I've been told they are currently working on the footers. It has a really beautiful site, up on a coastal mountain overlooking a river and the beach. It is composed of four 30' X 70' units connected by an open air dining room. The dining room expands out to a panoramic view of the ocean. I was given the project at this point in its design (the sketch up model below) and started working on the floor plans, filling in the units. After the first unit is constructed 30 kids who are currently living in temporary housing will move in and construction will continue. After the second unit is completed the orphanage will start taking new kids. And construction will continue for the third and fourth units. It was a really fun narrative to work with, floor plans orchestrated the events growth and expansion of the orphanage.
Each unit is divided into seven 10' x 15' bays. The bays are oriented to allow them to cross ventilate and cool the building. Since the site is on the side of a mountain and next to the ocean there is always a breeze. The first water well on site failed, depending on how the next one goes, the building may become dependent on a grey water/rain harvesting system. The design would not have been possible without Steven Mulligan, of Invision Architecture in Iowa. We had different groups come through the orphanage every week and as fate would have it he was here on a week while I was working on this project. He helped me make my ideas work and I learned a great deal of things that they don't teach you in architecture school. I emailed that hand drawings to him after he returned to America and he put together a revit model and exported to drawings below.
This is the project as of October 18, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Hands and Feet director, Bob Herdman. (Note the breath taking view.)
I hope to return to Haiti soon, to visit the forty pieces of my heart I left behind in Jacmel. Hopefully then I'll have some built works to post. It was an incredible honor to work on these projects this summer. The whole internship worked out better then anything I could have ever hoped for.
Hopefully the future holds more of this.
-Tray
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