Design challenge for minimalist schools in Haiti

"In an effort to inspire learning through a real-world situation, students from around the world have been challenged to create innovative and sustainable designs for small single-room schools that can be constructed across Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Natural disasters have increased the need for successful and thoughtful design of temporary shelters, and over the past five years, these have grown from a niche design element to a necessary aspect of the architecture profession. Needs range from transitional housing and intensive community planning sessions in the American Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina or the need for entirely new villages built following the tsunami in Thailand, The earthquake in Haiti on 12 January 2010 has yet again put the spotlight on temporary shelters and good, quickly built structures to accommodate thousands of homeless families and replace collapsed schools in Port-au-Prince.

Numerous organisations and individuals have invested time and effort to develop infrastructure for the nearly 600 000 homeless in Port-au-Prince. However, without social areas such as community centers, schools and libraries, the city of Port-au-Prince will struggle to bring displaced individuals back to the city center. It has been estimated that of the 4 616 schools surveyed in Port-au-Prince, 80% are damaged and approximately 431 teachers and 4 000 students were killed. An additional 250 000 schoolchildren are now displaced.

Autodesk and the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) both strive to provide architecture students the skills and tools needed to succeed in their chosen profession. In an effort to inspire learning through a real-world situation, AIAS and Autodesk have challenged students from around the world to create innovative and sustainable designs for small single-room schools that can be constructed across Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with limited materials and minimal construction experience. Using the Autodesk building information modeling (BIM) portfolio, specifically Autodesk® Revit® Architecture software and Autodesk® Ecotect® Analysis software, students were invited to submit their designs for review from peers and juried professionals.

Submissions have just been reviewed by peers in a People’s Choice category as well as by a prominent group of judges in the Juried category. The winners and the winning designs from each category are as follows:

* People’s Choice: Elana Willey, San Joaquin Delta College: “Ji Lekol, the Little Haitian School that Juice Built”
* Juried: Ian Siegel, New Jersey Institute of Technology: “Aluminum Disaster Relief Schoolhouse”



For more information, contact:
Paolo Zambon
EMEA Education Marketing Manager
Autodesk - Europe, Middle-East, Africa
Strada 4, Palazzo A5
20090 Assago (MI)
Italy
E-mail: paolo.zambon@autodesk.com
www.autodesk.com/education-emea