SIOUX FALLS, SD - A KELOLAND woman is packing her bags for the opportunity of a lifetime in Haiti. The Sioux Falls architect will be using her skills to help rebuild the small island country.
Six months after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the small island country, the cities, neighborhoods, and buildings still lay in rubble and more than a million people are homeless.
“The buildings were very brittle, and they just kind of fell apart, they're concrete,” Stacey McMahan said.
Architect Stacey McMahan says the impact is devastating. That's why she applied for a fellowship to help lead rebuilding efforts.
Next month she'll move to Port-au-Prince and help local people rebuild the right way.
“We have codes and standards here, we have a lot of safety codes, they don't have codes, they don't really follow codes there, I imagine, they have something in place, but I don't think it's enforced,” McMahan said.
McMahan's been working on energy efficient buildings in KELOLAND for years, but her new challenge will be to work in Haiti where sustainability may have a different definition that here.
“They're buildings are shells, basically mostly naturally ventilated, probably have electricity, might have plumbing, so they're much simpler, I think that sustainability in Haiti will focus on materials, whereas here, in the united states, a large focus of sustainability or LEED projects is energy efficiency,” McMahan said.
McMahan expects to spend the next year working with local officials to develop safe procedures, lead workshops, and hold training sessions for local builders. She wishes she could do even more hands on work.
“I'd like to bring a concrete crusher in my suitcase, I don't think it'll fit,” McMahan said.
Either way, she plans to do whatever she can to help.
McMahan will be living in Port-au-Prince with half a dozen other specialists with Architecture for Humanity Haiti. That program along with the U.S. Green Building Council selected her at the head of their sustainable rebuilding efforts in the country.
Six months after a 7.0 earthquake rocked the small island country, the cities, neighborhoods, and buildings still lay in rubble and more than a million people are homeless.
“The buildings were very brittle, and they just kind of fell apart, they're concrete,” Stacey McMahan said.
Architect Stacey McMahan says the impact is devastating. That's why she applied for a fellowship to help lead rebuilding efforts.
Next month she'll move to Port-au-Prince and help local people rebuild the right way.
“We have codes and standards here, we have a lot of safety codes, they don't have codes, they don't really follow codes there, I imagine, they have something in place, but I don't think it's enforced,” McMahan said.
McMahan's been working on energy efficient buildings in KELOLAND for years, but her new challenge will be to work in Haiti where sustainability may have a different definition that here.
“They're buildings are shells, basically mostly naturally ventilated, probably have electricity, might have plumbing, so they're much simpler, I think that sustainability in Haiti will focus on materials, whereas here, in the united states, a large focus of sustainability or LEED projects is energy efficiency,” McMahan said.
McMahan expects to spend the next year working with local officials to develop safe procedures, lead workshops, and hold training sessions for local builders. She wishes she could do even more hands on work.
“I'd like to bring a concrete crusher in my suitcase, I don't think it'll fit,” McMahan said.
Either way, she plans to do whatever she can to help.
McMahan will be living in Port-au-Prince with half a dozen other specialists with Architecture for Humanity Haiti. That program along with the U.S. Green Building Council selected her at the head of their sustainable rebuilding efforts in the country.
