Open Architecture Network

Week of Aug. 17-21, 2009:

1. Interior put-back complete (flooring, baseboard, cabinets)
2. Drywall repairs complete
3. Kitchen installation complete (all appliances)
4. Interior trim complete (shelves, closets)
5. Exterior siding complete; caulking & painting 50% done

1. LVL installation to shore up floor system complete
2. All windows flashed, sealed
3. All doors adjusted, flipped as necessary
4. FL2 stairs fixed per inspector
5. Block wall began Thursday, held up due to Friday storm...scheduled
for completion Tues, Aug. 4th
6. Hardie & metal siding/trim 50% complete...scheduled for completion
Thurs, Aug. 6th
7. All utilities re-routed (to accomodate new LVL beam)

Last night I arrived in Biloxi to kick off a week long volunteer blitz build to finish three of Architecture for Humanity's case study houses. The one of most conversation was designed by AIA-MN convention keynote Marlon Blackwell. Dubbed the porchdog, it's become the capstone on a program that has broadened the design possibilities for housing along the coast.

East Biloxi, a neighborhood completely wiped off the map, is now 1/3 rebuilt. It's a very impressive number, considering the nearly deserted towns along the coast like Pass Cristian and Waveland. However, it's still just 1/3 and building activity is definitely slowing down. Katrina relief has turned into Katrina fatigue down here. And the fatigue has bled into every non-profit organization, every funding source, and every city department.
So, after the builder stopped working on the porchdog for a little over three months, and we made the decision to try and organize a volunteer week long build, I was skeptical. However, within a couple days, we had complimentary housing at a local hotel and over a dozen experienced volunteers signed up.

Monday, April 28th:

no updates

No updates

Monday, November 12th:

no updates

Tuesday, October 30th:

Update Hero 3 : Time villans 1, I seem to be winning this match against time. What an exciting month this was. I could not wait till end of month for fear that I might forget some things. So I will be adding more info as we come to the close of the month.

Jason visit to Kenya.

Yeah, Jason finally did make it to Kenya and was here for a short jam packed week. Due to the excitement, he had 4 hours rest after his 2 day flight and was up and running. We went to meet Andrew (Architect of Record) to discuss the project. There was no need for an ice breaker session, we all seemed to get along. After the meeting we all went to visit the amazing Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA)organisation. I must say that despite the many times I have done this tour I always feel goose pimples seeing and hearing what MYSA have so far accomplished. Jason and Andrew were equally amazed.

The following day we had a meeting with MYSA Directors, Jason, Andrew, Bobby of BBK and myself. A very productive meeting that mapped the way forward for the project in terms of communication, cost estimates and design development. We were all happy with the outcome of the meeting and look forward to working smoothly.

On Wednesday, we had the community design workshop with the youth.(see separate update and photos will soon be uploaded)

On Thursday, Jason and I held a wrap up meeting with MYSA administration to make sure we had covered and considered everything. Jason then went on adventure on Friday which i think he will write all about on his blog, if i can find it. He then left the amazing country on Saturday morning and is back home. I was glad to host him and he tells me he enjoyed every minute of his visit.

Community Design Workshop

This was no ordinary workshop, as designers we do not do long written out speeches. It was a workshop that was hands on and encouraged individual participation within each group.

There were 38 youth that participated in this workshop. We randomly divided them into five groups and then we run three exercises, namely:

Mapping exercise: to get to know how the community youth relate to the places/ services around them.

MYSA-Community Relationship exercise: this exercise was designed to enable us, the visitors, and MYSA, understand how the community relates to the various programs run by the organisation.

Centre Design exercise: was designed to get the youth to identify what they think will be needed in the proposed FFH centre that will be constructed. Interesting suggestions were made and various forms were created.

Overall the youth enjoyed themselves and were very open during the entire workshop. At the end we shared some soft drinks, took group pictures and chatted about anything besides the workshop. It was also fun for Jason and I.

Structural Engineer added to team

This month we welcomed the addition of a new team member, Eng. Mike Gumbi of Gumbi & Associates. He will be the lead structural consultant on this project. We are excited to have him on board and look forward to learning a lot from him.

There is still more updates to come next month, watch the space.........

Thursday, October 18th:

Thursday, October 11th:

Wednesday, July 18th: