Design for Limited Resources in Africa and Haiti

Caroline Shannon (MArch ’13) worked for the MASS Design Group in Boston, MA. MASS was started by a group of GSD students in 2007 to provide architectural design, construction, and consulting services to communities and clients in limited resource settings. MASS develops each project in close collaboration with partners and local populations as an engine for economic growth, job creation, capacity building, and ultimately for reduction of poverty and improvement of living standards.

Caroline worked on four main projects throughout the summer. They included a proposal for a Vocational School in Corporant, Haiti; a SEED (Social Economic Environmental Design) Application for Butaro Hospital in Northern Rwanda; a casebook for the planning and design of health facilities in resource limited settings (specifically focused on design strategies to reduce the transmission of air-borne diseases such as tuberculosis); and the AECOM Urban SOS Competition – Campus Catalyst.

Caroline served as the project team leader for the AECOM Urban SOS Competition, working on a proposal for transformation in Port-au-Prince Haiti by adapting the Vocational School model to the post-disaster urban environment.  The Team was selected for inclusion on a short-list of 29 out of hundreds of teams and remains in competition for final selection.