“Designers’ Roles in Disaster Preparedness & Relief” Panelists
Harry van Burik, Shelter Specialist, Shelter for Life (Oshkosh, WI)
Alan Lewis, Director, Tulane City Center (New Orleans, LA)
Laura Shipman, Design Corps (Baltimore, MD)
Moderator
Kate Stohr, Co-founder, Architecture for Humanity (Bozeman, MT)
A permanent house is one of the most essential steppingstones for people left homeless by conflict and disaster when they seek to rebuild their uprooted lives. Shelter For Life International provides sustainable shelter solutions by respecting local cultures, customs, architecture and building methods, using available resources, and working in close collaboration with affected communities, thus creating environments in which people feel psychologically, physically and socially secure. Architects can play a pivotal role in this process because of their close interaction with communities, understanding of complex issues, and ability to develop appropriate and innovative design solutions. The impact of a home for those displaced and left homeless is significant. Permanent housing provides people with dignity and brings families together in a safe and decent place. It is also often used as a platform for home-based enterprises. Moreover, by involving the affected population in rebuilding their homes and settlements, they become stakeholders in their community. People will guard their newly found hope and future, and are less receptive to destabilizing influences. Shelter is therefore a linchpin for stable and secure societies.
Harry van Burik is the vice president and shelter specialist of Shelter For Life International, a nonprofit humanitarian organization with international headquarters in Oshkosh, Wis. Harry joined Shelter For Life in 1994 and pioneered the work in Tajikistan, Northern Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. Shelter For Life began in 1984 as a response to the needs of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Today, through construction and community development projects, Shelter For Life works to rebuild and restore the lives of displaced people left homeless by war and natural disaster in Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and the United States. Previously, Harry worked in development programs in West Africa and Asia, and was an assistant professor at the Civil Engineering Faculty of the Delft University of Technology. He earned his Master of Architecture from the Delft University of Technology and his Bachelor of Building Engineering from the Technical College of The Hague, both of which are located in The Netherlands. Born and raised in The Netherlands, Harry now lives in Wisconsin with his Sri Lankan wife Jenny and their two sons.
The Tulane City Center aims to coordinate the numerous outreach initiatives and service-learning efforts at the Tulane School of Architecture and to provide leadership in establishing a design-driven, socially conscious and environmentally responsible urban agenda for the City of New Orleans. The Tulane City Center will involve the professional and post-professional degree programs at the Tulane School of Architecture through instruction, research and outreach, as well as ongoing urban design and management issues. As a resource, the Tulane City Center will provide a place for architects, planners, developers and community organizations to seek design advice, guidance and coordination on urban developments. These services may be for larger scale visions such as a commercial corridor or a neighborhood master plan, or, for discrete building scale projects. In both instances, the objective is to communicate and encourage the development of an enhanced public realm. It will be a source for ideas and information to help community groups imagine their possibilities and achieve their goals.
Alan Lewis is the interim director of the Tulane City Center and an adjunct professor at the Tulane School of Architecture where his courses focus on architectural urbanism. He is also a Senior Design Associate at Eskew+Dumez+Ripple where his projects range from a Master Plan in Baton Rouge to a pavilion in Chattanooga. Alan graduated from University of Tennessee College of Architecture and has practiced at Machado & Silvetti Associates and Chan Krieger & Associates for clients such as Harvard, Emory, and the City of Boston. During his evacuation from New Orleans, Alan was at Georgia Tech College of Architecture where he led a cross-disciplinary seminar concerning the issues related to the numerous effects of Hurricane Katrina. He also co-coordinated and designed a conference, ‘ReInhabiting NOLA’ for the Tulane School of Architecture and the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, which established working relationships between the institutions, neighborhood organizations, artists, professionals and residents. Alan was also a member of the Urban Design Subcommittee for the Mayor Nagin’s ‘Bring New Orleans Back’ master plan. Alan, his wife and professional artist, Mimi Moncier, and their two Rhodesian Ridgebacks have returned to New Orleans where they are dedicated to assist in the daunting challenges ahead.
The situation for Florida farmworkers after the onslaught of storms in 2004 was brought to Design Corps’ attention by farmworker advocate Rob Williams of Florida Legal Services. Our conversations focused on the need to evaluate the shortcomings of existing units in this time of rebuilding and seek a new way of viewing farmworker housing. Housing that would be first and foremost durable to withstand hurricane forces, pleasant and sensitive to the needs of farmworkers, flexible for adaptability and longevity, as well as produced in a way that could be duplicated on multiple sites throughout Florida’s agricultural regions to address the widespread housing shortage. Consultations primarily with migrant farm workers and with many others involved in farmworker housing issues such as non-profits, growers, catholic charities, HUD, and departments of health have informed the design process, and infused the project with specifications responsive to existing housing problems. The project is intended to be a model for nonprofit organizations and growers as to the possibilities of careful design and manufactured construction.
Laura Shipman is an Advisory Board member of Design Corps. Born in New Orleans, she earned her Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University in 2004, and like many students sought to infuse her design work with an understanding of social issues. After graduation, she worked as a Design Corps Fellow with the Community Housing Resource Center (CHRC) from 2004-2005. Her work with Design Corps focused on migrant farmworker housing in Florida due to the 2004 hurricanes and resulting housing crisis. With the CHRC she also concentrated on the design of affordable and sustainable housing in Atlanta, Ga. Laura is currently in Baltimore, Md., working with Cho Benn Holback + Associates, an architecture, planning, and interior design firm focusing on higher education, historic renovation, and sustainable design.
Kate Stohr is the co-founder of Architecture for Humanity. She brings a background in daily news and a strong understanding of urban issues, planning and infrastructure to the organization. As a freelance journalist, her work has appeared in a number of national publications, including The New York Times, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, Dwell, Architectural Record, and Time Digital. Her documentary production credits include: Biography (A&E), History Detectives (PBS), Escape From Death Row (A&E), and Night Court (MSNBC). Kate earned her bachelor’s degree, magna cum laude, from New York University and her master’s degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
