THE HAITI PROJECT THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, KNOXVILLE COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN
INTRODUCTION Nearly 30 years ago, Professor John McRae,
students and the tremendous needs of the
former dean of the College of Architecture
nation. Thus, the Haiti Project was established,
and Design, traveled to Haiti and became
creating an interdisciplinary approach to
intrigued
people,
help solve multiple issues of health, safety,
colorful history, and deep rooted culture
and sustainability. The collaborative group
and pride. During his travels he established a
of students, including architecture, nursing,
relationship with Jean and Joy Thomas of the
engineering, interior design, and landscape
Haiti Christian Development Fund, who were
architecture, began working on the first design
doing work in the village of Fond-des-Blancs.
project – L’Exode Secondary School in Fond-
Upon hearing about the tragic earthquake
des-Blancs – during Fall 2010. The exposure
in January 2010, John contacted Jean and
to another culture, a new set of design
Joy to see how he and the students at the
parameters,
University of Tennessee could assist in Haiti’s
will continue to give students invaluable
“build back better” campaign. The timing
lessons and equip them to become better
appeared to be ripe with opportunity for a
professionals with more sensitivity towards
mutually beneficial relationship between the
different cultures and the context of others.
with
the
spirit
of
its
and
real-world
“Working with a group of dedicated students and architects to reach a common goal has been an experience unmatched by any other” Marianela D’ Aprile, First Year Architecture Student
experiences
CONSTRAINTS Haitians are disproportionately vulnerable to
Due to the lack of resources and infrastructure,
earthquakes and other natural disasters due
the challenges of designing in Haiti are:
to socioeconomic factors, among others. As designers, economic constraints and exposure to another culture can offer an opportunity to supplement our technical skills with empathy, acute problem solving, and cultural sensitivity. While
architecture
students
are
often
encouraged to design structures that test the limits of materials and technology, those involved in the Haiti Project learn to design with a sense of restraint and pragmatism.
• using cost effective local materials and construction methods • utilizing natural lighting and ventilation methods • incorporating health, water, and sanitation considerations • designing structures that will withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding • planning for phased construction
Being creative in a setting with low resources can be more difficult, but it makes the outcome that much more rewarding.
“The constant negotiation between cultural, economic, climatic, and tectonic constraints has created a fascinating arena in which to practice our craft and our humanity” Andy Ruff, Fifth Year Undergraduate Architecture Student
COLLABORATION Architecture + Design “Whether it is professional or personal, I think we can all say from the bottom of our hearts that we have benefited from this experience in ways that we will never be able to truly explain.” Laura Sherborne, Undergraduate Architecture
Engineering “The experience of getting to know and learn from people who are different from you is beneficial and enjoyable in ways that go beyond the professional.” Jeremy Mefford, Graduate Civil Engineering Student
Nursing “The Nursing program recognizes the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in finding innovative and sustainable solutions to the complex problems facing the world’s most vulnerable populations. Because health and wellness are shaped largely by socioeconomic and environmental factors, nursing’s partnership with architecture was a natural fit. As nursing faculty, we may have initially perceived our role in the collaboration as predominantly informative: Teach architecture and design students the fundamentals of infection control and describe how healthcare workers and patients interact in clinical settings so that students can design a building suitable to the purpose of health promotion. However, it was not long before we realized how much we had to learn from our creative counterparts.” Moriah McArthur, MSc, Clinical Instructor, College of Nursing
SECONDARY SCHOOL PHASE 1 Master Plan The first phase of the L’Exode Secondary School, designed by COAD students in a spring 2011 seminar course, was completed for the community of Fond-des-Blancs in August 2012. Some of our students and faculty were able to attend the grand opening in September 2012, with over 300 attendees. The first phase includes five classrooms and the cafeteria. The school, designed in three phases, will include a total of 500 students.
Classrooms Eventually there will be a total of 18 classrooms along with dormitories. Built in phases, the number of classrooms will grow as the student body does. The classrooms each seat 25-30 students with separate entrances and natural ventilation and lighting. This approach provides for productive teaching and learning, allowing students to focus on lessons.
Cafeteria Many students attending school depend on in-house meals to get them though the day. While students attend L’Exode Secondary School, they are able to dine in an environment that allows for community bonding and wholesome meals. Many students from the community have limited resources and the meal they have at school may be their only daily nutrition.
HOUSING COMMUNITY There are four different housing types that
relatively small in plan. The retiree home would
the designers were asked to consider for
also be small due to the number of members in
the proposed community of this spring 2012
the household. For both of these types, more
studio. They included the young professional,
modern amenities would be included in order
retiree, typical Haitian family and roommate.
to sustain the lifestyles these families would
The 14 houses were all designed as part of
have acquired from living in more developed
a master plan within a tract near the school.
areas. The third housing type was designed
Part of the concept was to provide housing for
for the typical Haitian family, which generally
school staff. The young professional and the
includes between four and ten members, and
retiree housing types were designed for Haitian
requires more space than homes designed for
expatriates. The expatriate families might have
smaller family units. The final housing type was
either come from the city of Port-au-Prince or
for a roommate situation. These homes would
were originally natives of the more rural areas
not be as intimate as those designed for a
of Haiti and lived for an extended period of time
family and would require an amount of space
in either Port-au-Prince or the United States. In
that would allow for comfort to an individual
both of these scenarios, these families would
but also have common space. The designs were
have spent time living in more developed areas
carried through the “design development”
and now wish to return to the countryside. The
stage and submitted to the Haiti Christian
homes of the young professional expatriates
Development Fund for implementation. The
would likely be categorized in the United
first house began construction in fall 2013.
States as a “starter home” and would be
STORAGE
POTENTIAL ADDITION
FULL BATHROOM
BEDROOM
LIVING ROOM
BACK PORCH
MASTER BEDROOM
FRONT PORCH
MASTER BATHROOM
KITCHEN
EBEN-EZER MEDICAL CLINIC Mobile Medical Unit
Nursing Perspective
Student teams proposed a system for delivering health care to rural Haitians in the response to natural disaster. The design had to address the realities of the Haitian communication and
The devastation inflicted by the earthquake
opportunity to incorporate nursing students
transportation infrastructure, cultural expectations of delivering medical care, and the ergonomic
presented a unique opportunity for nursing
into their design teams and utilized their
and human factor issues of transporting supplies.
and architecture to unite under a shared “build
knowledge base in design process. Throughout
back better� philosophy and contribute to the
the semester, nursing students reflected on the
reconstruction of the country’s ailing healthcare
challenges and ultimate benefits of working
infrastructure. The new Eben-Ezer Medical
so closely with another discipline including:
Clinic is located in the community of Ft. Liberte.
learning a common language to transcend
Faculty in both disciplines had prior experience
discipline specific jargon, embracing new ways
working in Haiti which facilitated greater
of thinking about health, and overcoming
understanding of Haitian culture and way of life.
logistical/technological challenges to ensure all
Haiti offers extraordinary creative opportunities for people to think and work differently. Design
As nurses, the goal was to provide insight into
voices were heard despite the rapid pace and
thinking techniques were implemented, and transdisciplinary collaboration was incorporated in
the challenges Haitian people face accessing
tight deadlines of the project. These skills are
the studio experience. These approaches were provided to foster success through relationship
healthcare as well as the typical services and
necessary and transferable to many aspects
and practicing a deeper sense of empathy when making decisions. Design thinking is a universal
operations of rural clinics. The architecture and
of life, and this unique project exemplified the
process of creating original ideas, objects, spaces, or experiences with meaning. Imagination and
interior design students were extraordinarily
power of collaboration for interdisciplinary
integrity developed by the students were able to reach beyond the traditions of visual/spatial
perceptive and engaged us in thoughtful
education and practice.
design associated with the building arts. They learned to merge and synthesize the tangible and
discourse about the needs of both patients and
intangible aspects of the world into new holistic human experiences. Design thinking is an inclusive
healthcare providers. Students also seized the
Design Thinking
process with emphasis on empathy and collaboration. This approach contributed significantly to the successful efforts of the studio.
Student Projects The spring 2013 studio, with 23 students in architecture, interior design and nursing, developed a total of 11 different solutions for the Ft. Liberte Medical Clinic. The projects provided a significant level of creative thinking and idea generation across a range of considerations. It is anticipated that a composite - selected by the client, friends of Ft. Liberte - will be built in the fairly near future.
Moriah McArthur, MSc, Clinical Instructor
CONSTRUCTION EXPLORATIONS This fall 2013 seminar built on the work of the
The course was supported by input from the
seminar in fall 2012, in which an interdisciplinary
Colleges of Nursing and Engineering. The
group of students researched and developed
results of the seminar will be incorporated into
best practices for single family home design
the Construction/User Manual, LIFEHouse. The
and construction. There was a particular
material will be translated into both Creole and
emphasis on critical “low tech” systems that
French, and will be distributed throughout the
include strategies for harvesting, filtering, and
country to leaders and builders in an effort
conveying clean water, managing sunlight, and
to provide safer, better, and more sustainable
creating window screening. The students were
guidelines
asked to individually identify, through research
country.
for
residential
building
in
the
and precedent studies, a problem condition and design a solution strategy using full scale models and real construction materials.
“The class gained a new perspective into the constraints that a Haitian builder faces through limited tools and materials, by having the opportunity to construct our designs, and experience the challenges inherent in the building process.” Mallory Barga, 3rd Year Graduate Architecture Student
LIFEHouse: Improving the Quality of Life Through Better Design LIFEHouse represents an innovative approach
users manual. The research will help to support
to addressing the urgent need for adequate
ten design principles, which will highlight
building standards in Haiti. While including
step-by-step ways to mitigate disease, ensure
basic safety instructions, the unique feature
safety, and create sustainable ways of life
of LIFEHouse is its emphasis on a less-well-
while utilizing local resources and observing
known relationship between housing design
cultural sensitivities. These design principles
and disease prevention. With a focus on health
will be illustrated and translated to Creole,
and well-being, LIFEHouse offers a broader
allowing them to relate directly to the people.
awareness of how adhering to adequate
They will be strategically disseminated by
building standards can lead to safer homes
Haitian community leaders to ensure wider
and an overall improved quality of life.
acceptance and utilization.
As evidence mounts that there are no plans
Broader objectives include evaluating the
to implement a national building code, an
design principles used in the construction of a
urgent need exists to disseminate research-
test house in Haiti by Haitians. This process will
based design principles and resources to
reveal the strengths, as well as possible gaps,
individual citizens and communities who are
in the research conducted so far, providing
attempting to rebuild. The term LIFEHouse
a framework for further refinement of the
refers to a house designed to promote life. It
principles.
encompasses a multi-faceted research project that will explore how culturally sensitive ideas,
This is an ongoing project that has involved
along with health and safety conscious design
many faculty and students from the Colleges
can contribute directly to a better quality of
of Architecture and Design, Nursing, and
life.
Engineering.
Research
editors,
Susanne
Tarovella, Andy Godwin, and Joleen Darragh, The
objective
is
to
incorporate
student
academic and field research, conducted in
plan to draft the publication during spring 2014.
recent design laboratories, into a construction/
A LIFEHouse is a home designed to promote life. It breathes, takes root, grows over time, comforts, brightens, supports, withstands, is resilient, hydrates, and refreshes.
UPCOMING WORK Secondary School Phase 2 + 3 The second and third phases of the school construction will be completed over the next few years. A multi-purpose building, dormitories, additional classrooms, and the library are the next buildings to be constructed. There are presently 60 seventh and eighth grade students. The facility will eventually support 500 students through all secondary levels. The school has been visited for a post occupancy evaluation to test classroom lighting levels, ventilation, site water runoff, and other factors. These results will be incorporated into planning of future phases.
Housing Community Work on the school, together with subsequent plans, has spurred the college to conduct a more general research study, funded through the UT Office of Research, developing and documenting “best practices� in single family house designs. The housing studies described in this publication are now complete, with construction documents for 14 houses. Construction started on the first home in fall 2013.
For More Information To see more student work, please visit http://tiny.utk.edu/haiti-project To donate to the project, go to Impact Big Ideas at https://tiny.utk.edu/big-impact-haiti
The 2010 earthquake shook Haiti to the core; not just physically but also socially, politically and economically. Almost three years later the emotional aftershocks are still being felt. In the months following the quake there were enough blames to pass around from individual responsibilities to governmental neglects. But there were also some very constructive conversations around building a better Haiti. At the forefront of those discussions was the concept of ‘decentralization’. So many young students died in overcrowded schools. So many century old government buildings collapsed along with countless substandard homes. ‘Build better’ became a universal slogan. Almost three years later, it is sad to say that not much has improved. The chatter has subsided. The NGO’s have moved on. Thankfully, a few visionaries have remained committed to the dream of a better Haiti. The University of TennesseeKnoxville is one of the few. Working with leaders in the rural community of Fonddes-Blancs, professors and students have invested their skills to design a better academic environment aimed at providing a quality education in a modern and safe environment. Not satisfied with just the needs of the students, they also created blueprints for a totally modern residential community where relocation from anywhere in Haiti and the world can happen without a downgrade in living comfort and amenities. In so doing the University has addressed the two core issues of the post-earthquake Haiti: safety and decentralization. For this they have earned the respect and appreciation of the people of Fond-des-Blancs and created a model that should be replicated in the rest of the country.
Rev. Jean Thomas, Executive Director of the Haiti Christian Development Fund Fond-des-Blancs, Haiti