Kutamba AIDS Orphans School

Design Fellow Matt Miller is on week five of his work to design the Kutamba AIDS Orphans School in Uganda. He's been tasked with designing a school that can be easily replicated in other parts of Africa on a site that is anything but replicable. The project will include the design and construction of a school facility including classrooms, offices, kitchen/dining, library, infirmary/nurse's space, and play space or children orphaned by AIDS. The design will take advantage of renewable energy systems, local materials and building methods, and context-sensitive systems solutions. Here's a quote from one of Matt's project updates: "Rather than making the two-hour walk to the hardware store I managed to replace the pin with a short length of barbed wire and chewing gum, Edison was floored by such ad-hoc ingenuity, Thanks MacGyver!" To read more about his work, take a look at his project updates on the Open Architecture Network.

Chris Harnish is finishing up his Design Fellowship working on site to help NextAid and Youth with a Vision develop a holistic strategy for designing and building an earth-friendly center for teenagers teaching AIDS awareness and a home for an additional 50 children orphaned by AIDS in Dennilton, Limpopo Province, South Africa. He's been helping with everything from materials research, to site planning, to construction management. Read his blog for the Architectural Record online.

We've all had our heads to the grindstone of late finishing up houses for clients on the Gulf Coast.  Take a look at the rehab and addition by Loci Architecture for the Guillen Residence. (Thank you David Briggs and all the folks at Loci for helping to bring the Guillen's home.) Or, this house by the Gulf Coast Community Design Studio for a family in Biloxi, Mississippi.  Or, some of the work done by Design Director John Dwyer for the Design Studio at NENA.

Now that we've gotten our head around how to design for the Gulf Coast, we're sharing many of the program materials we developed for NENA and the Biloxi Model Home Program on the Open Architecture Network.  If you are a designer interested in learning about how to implement a family selection process—we've got you covered. Check out the files sections of both of these projects. We'll continue to update them as we move forward. 

Architecture for Humanity is helping communities rebuild across the Gulf Coast. Since the storm we have supported a wide range of projects from supporting historic preservation to funding community design centers to pairing clients with architects willing to offer their services on a pro bono basis.

Projects completed and in progress include: The Guardians Institute designed by Rockwell Group, Hand-on Preservation Workshops, and the Calhoun Residence and Back House designed by Shelter Architecture.