BBBC HOUSE PROTOTYPE COMPLETE

Returned to Haiti this week for the official "inauguration" of the BBBC Expo in Zorangé, just north of Port-au-Prince. Went directly from the airport to meet the contractor at the site the day before, since reports from our partner Relief International's local staff indicated there was much yet to be done. Despite a delayed construction process up to this point, after a long day and early morning of hard work, we got our house prototype looking great for the big day. VIP's in attendance included Haitian President Michel Martelly, their Minister of Tourism Patrick Delatour, former President Bill Clinton, and Wyclef Jean, among others. Although the official group only visited a handful of the sixty prototypes this week, we were honored by the attention President Martelly gave our house at a previous visit to the Expo. There were quite a few attendees representing a wide variety of organizations checking out all the prototypes; we made some interesting contacts and received a lot of compliments on our house. We're hoping to be one of the ten or so winners selected who will build approximately 40 houses each as part of a 400 unit "exemplary community" to be constructed at a site near the Expo, and while the Expo is open for the next three weeks we'll be taking advantage of having the prototype available to show as we (Inscape Publico & Relief International) pursue development partners, grants and other funding sources to build communities of these houses at other sites. Very excited to have a great-looking prototype built! Check out more photos on our flickr site here.

On the Boards: A New Dawn - Ayiti Marmont Clinic

Schematic design is wrapping up on the Medical Clinic located in Marmont, Haiti that we are designing for Project Medi-Share. In recent weeks, we’ve taken an initial concept design provided through a charette with GW University students and members of the local architecture community led by OPX, and adapted it to a new site. Our process was thorough, with many layers of trace paper overlapped and covered in hand-sketched iterations drawn during our design meetings. We arrived at a courtyard scheme that features separate functions in individual, small buildings clustered around a central outdoor space. With some feedback from our collaborators, we are moving forward to complete schematic design.

One challenge, personally on this project, has been the odd experience of designing not only at a site I’ve never seen, but in a country I’ve never visited. It is certainly a good exercise in visualization. The other overall challenge is the critical importance of quality construction in a country, so recently ravaged by an earthquake, where building trades are not strictly regulated and rarely have the money or know-how for new construction technologies. This challenges us to think creatively about designing with simple materials and connections that will be familiar to local contractors and will also ensure the longevity of the structure. Those system and connection choices will be made in the coming weeks as we begin design development. All in all, it is an exciting project to take on and I look forward to visiting the site in Haiti soon!

WORKING CLOSE TO HOME

LEDC celebrated its 20^th anniversary tonight at the OAS. The neo-classical building at 17^th and Constitution with its two-story atrium was a wonderful venue for LEDC’s annual fund raiser. I sit as board chair at LEDC and being the son of an immigrant from Santiago, Chile, the services they provide have a special place in my heart. LEDC’s mission is to drive the economic and social advancement of low- to moderate-income Latinos and other DC area residents by equipping them with the skills and tools to achieve financial independence and become leaders in their communities. Inscape donated $500 to the gala.

In 2008 Inscape Studio designed LEDC’s new space in Wheaton, MD. The 2,400sf space serves thousands of Maryland residents providing services in small business development and lending, homeownership and foreclosure counselling, and affordable housing preservation. Also is in the space is a financial services center that works with that portion of the population without access to traditional banking institutions.

Inscape Publico will be providing concept design services for a new building in Wheaton. The new development will allow us to expand our services in an area that has seen a tremendous population increase over the past decade. LEDC will be launching a capital campaign in the fall of this year to raise the 3 million dollars needed to build the new facility. To learn more about LEDC and to donate to the organization, please visit their website.
- Greg

BUILDING BACK BETTER COMMUNITIES

Stefan and I just got back from the BBBC site late this afternoon. Back at Maison Blanche with its proprietor “Daddy”. He’s another story for another day. Today was the inauguration of the housing exposition for the Building Back Better Communities project. The project is a program developed by the government of Haiti and being supported by the Clinton Foundation and the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank). Inscape Publico teamed with Relief International and is one of 40 finalists that have built their housing prototype. Eventually the best of these 40 prototypes will be selected to participate in a planned community to house 125 families.

Early this afternoon ex-president Bill Clinton and the newly elected Haitian president Michel Martelly visited the site. The two were greeted as rock stars, fitting for an ex-musician and our former first saxophonist. Clinton was wearing a panama hat and through the scrum you could follow his movements around the site by tracking the straw hat floating above the crowd. It was great to see the two presidents at the site as they bring a much need voice to the project and the problem of homelessness in Haiti. Clinton said he hopes that "all the technology deployed on this project will ever be available to all Haitians. That they no longer have to pay more for electricity, and that drinking water is no longer a rare commodity..."
- Greg

COLLABORATION WITH MI CASA

This evening I attended a rooftop reception and fundraiser to support Mi Casa hosted by the law firm Reno & Cavanaugh helped to support Mi Casa's mission to provide affordable housing to low and moderate-income households in Washington, DC and Baltimore. Inscape made a contribution of $250. Atop the roof at 455 Massachusetts Avenue, NW we were serenaded by a jazz trio while enjoying views of the US Capitol and the Washington Monument. A glass of white wine cooled the body on this warm early summer evening.

Currently Inscape Studio, Inscape Publico's sister firm, is collaborating with Mia Casa on the design and renovation of 60 units in NE Washington, DC. Pleasant Park Cooperative is composed of 60 two-bedroom townhouses situated around a series of courtyards. With Mi Casa's assistance and a DHCD loan, the tenants purchased and are developing their homes as a limited equity cooperative. It's a pleasure working with Mia Casa and the tenants of PPC on this important project.
- Greg