Next Steps

Photo by Morgan Oiler

Our experience in Haiti by far exceeded our expectations. To learn about a culture and to experience that culture results in summation that your research is only a single story. Preconceived notions are either proved true or false. To our advantage, though, we are able to elaborate on or reevaluate design concepts from our initial approach based on the proving of these notions. As a group we chose to elaborate on the porch concept and reevaluate the kitchen  concept. 

 

 Photo by Morgan Oiler

While in Haiti, our classmates built relationships within our studio and with Haitians that probably would not have existed otherwise. In a sense, we became a family, through gathering and socializing, through laughter and silence. These interactions somehow always took place on or within the realm of the porch. Therefore, our group took initiative to analyze the key factors contributing to or causing this observation. We determined that everyone always migrated toward the porch for several reasons.

1. shade
2. seating
3. views of surrounding environment

We also observed that the porch was never big enough for a large group gathering. Only several people could enjoy this space. Hence, moving forward, we will take this analysis into consideration and develop a stronger design for the "porch concept".

 

 Photo by Morgan Oiler

Before our excursion, as a studio, we believed that cooking outside was a way of life in the Haitian culture. From our understanding, the Haitians were used to that lifestyle and perhaps it gave them great pleasure to do so. However, through interviewing Jean and Joy Thomas, we discovered that some Haitians were only prepared food outside by choice. Kitchens are still needed in the home and should not be designed to enhance the outdoor cooking tradition. Instead the kitchen should be considered another room indoors. In this urban alternative community, cooking outside should be viewed as a plan B, in case gas stoves cannot be powered. Moving forward in our scheme, we have to reevaluate this notion in order to satisfy our clients and improve the overall master plan to include these design aspects. This, in turn, creates constraints that conclude in creative solutions, which motivates our team.

Enveloped in a New Culture and Site

Culture

Visiting Fond-des-Blancs opened our eyes to what is truly important in Haitian design. Our first observation was that porches are a vital means to socialization in Haiti. The porch is said to be the main spot for socializing with friends and family and is often considered a room of its own. The ideal weather conditions make being outside much more comfortable than being indoors. Also, we were told that most Haitians leave the interior of their home as a space for only themselves. Much like we would invite guests into our living rooms, Haitians use their porches as their main living space.

Another observation that was made is that Haitians rely heavily on local streams and rivers for bathing and washing their clothes.  Though this is part of their day-to-day life, we are hoping that adding a laundry service to the commercial/residential area would be appealing to many people. The laundry service would be located in one of the stores below the apartments and preferably run by a Haitian living in the community.

Cooking outdoors has consistently influenced our ideas for the housing design thus far. We have tried to incorporate not only cooking areas but also eating areas outdoors because we assumed that is what Haitians would enjoy. However, we came to find during our visit that, though they enjoy the outdoors, we should leave eating areas indoors and consider rainy days when designing the cooking areas. Charcoal grilling outside needs to be an option but cooking should be pushed indoors.

Site Overview

After blindly picturing the site for weeks, it was an eye opener to finally have the chance to explore the site. The studio as a whole had expected the topography of the site to be a struggle, but the extreme slopes of the site were a bit shocking to most.  There is far less semi-flat land to build on than we had expected. The slopes at times seemed to reach a 45 to 60 degree angle down to the river. We have thrown around the idea of putting housing on stilts and breaking the houses into zones that can be tiered along with the slope. After seeing the actual topography, we feel this is the correct path to take.

Our group has placed most of the housing development in a high-density vegetation area on the site. We see this both as an asset and possible problem. The vegetation can help shade the housing, but could also create problems when the lots are being laid out. We want to avoid cutting down trees or ruining the land so we would like to preserve as much vegetation as possible.

One of the most intriguing parts of the site to our group was the connection of the river and small stream. We believe it would be a great gathering spot and highlight of the site. Our group has pictured this connection point as a place for social gatherings and pavilions for the community. The streams/rivers seemed to be the main places we saw people outside of their homes in Haiti so we believe this connection is the ideal spot for a community space.

The size and feel of the initial long strip of land at the front of the site came as a pleasant site to our group. Our ideas of a combined commercial and residential area seem to be able to work well. The width of the strip of land and small amount of vegetation seem to be perfect for our proposed ideas.

Site Analysis - Low Vegetation

Similar types of low vegetation were observed towards the back of the site near the river. The initial strip of land at the front of the site seemed to house a few different types of vegetation compared to the rest of the site. The front of the site is significantly less dense with vegetation compared to the rest of the site, which could be the cause for this difference in vegetation. The specific types of vegetation have not yet been recorded because we are currently exploring the possibilities of what each might be.