2011 haiti_utk publication

One to Another

A Downloadable Publication from the 2011 Haiti UTK Studio

 

WBIR Report of the Haiti Studio

Introduction haiti_utk

Welcome to the Haiti UTK site! The work on these pages reflects student engagement in design for both a school and housing for the community of Fonds des Bloncs, Haiti in collaboration with the Haiti Christian Development Fund. The project was initiated in the early fall of 2010 and subsequently a class of 19 students, in the spring of 2011, was given the responsibility of deisgning a secondary school. The school is under constuction. A new group of students is now hard at work developing new housing in Fonds des Blancs. The work of these students can be seen in the pages of this blog. Students of the class will be traveling to Haiti Februay 2-6 to collect addiional data. It is anticipated that this second phase of the project will be completed in late April with construction starting summer 2012. The work of the students is being guided by three primary faculty, John McRae, David Matthews, and Chris King, a local practictioner. The students during their exploration will engage a wide range of issues including context, culture, resources, climate and other outside factors not common to their expereince. 

Students: Cassidy Barnett, Aaron Brown, Sarah Heimermann, Mitzi Coker, Emily Corgan, Ben Cross, Peter Duke, Emily Fike, Sam Funari, Lauren Heile, Kendra McHaney, Lauren Metts, Morgan Oiler, Bernice Paez, Forrest Reynolds, Emily Ryan, James Sawyer, Zachary Smith, Robert Thew, Cory Wikerson Faculty: John McRae, Chris King, David Matthews

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Special Thanks!

The Haiti Studio for spring 2012 is being supported by HaitiServe foundation based in Knoxville Tennessee, that is focused on outreach and engagement in improving conditions in Haiti. 

Entries in Education (1)

Sunday
Feb172013

Privacy Tent for Haiti

Vetiver Plant Provides Breathable Wall For Comfort

This deployable unit was to be used to secure medicine and food prior to distribution.  The materials this tent was to be made from would include locally sourced bamboo and vetiver plants.  Jobs could then be created in cultivation and processing of these sustainable raw materials into fabric and the proper dimensions.  Paint would have would have provided direction with matching colors serving as an international language.  Metal corners fabricated in a more industrialised country would provide rigidity to winds and decrease the time required to assemble the structure.  The deployment of this structure would primarily be in response to natural disasters where food and light medical attention are critically needed.   Regular usage of this package could benefit those living in more isolated area's where aid is more scarce.  These units are meant to be staffed by the people of Haiti allowing them to provide for themselves and provide for their own relief.   This would be an empowering element to the local people and promote education through increased communication.

 

Basic Instruction on Assembly 

During the development of this project I realized that sustainable aid to Haiti can best be accomplished by educating and empowering the local people.  Promoting basic ideas of sanitation and reinforcing those ideas with proper leadership could do much for the people of Haiti. Due to the actions of irresponsible aid workers new and deadly viruses have been introduced to Haiti.  If local peoples had been given an education on the basic kinds of care that can be sustainable provided in Haiti and then dispatched to carry out that care new foreign disease might not be introduced.

Key elements of a hospital design should include education, local material to stimulate the economy, and geographic awareness to provide patients with comfort.