Community health and architecture might be more intertwined than we realize. A Massachusetts and Rwandan-based architecture company called MASS latched onto the idea that dissecting the building process to foster healthy community growth is the best way to approach poverty and disease around the world. Their achievements with this methodology are astounding. MASS’s mission is part of the Lo-Fab movement, a push to use locally-fabricated materials. On each project, be it a Congolese school or a hospital in Rwanda, they incorporate local people’s ideas and designs, hire local laborers and build only with locally-sourced materials. The effect is a community-driven effort to improve quality of life that provides important employment opportunities to the surrounding area.
When cholera broke out in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake, the country was in dire need of adequate medical facilities. The disease causes an acute infection in the intestines and can kill a healthy adult in several hours, but it is treatable with the right medical care. MASS Design Group observed the insufficiency of the temporary treatment tents that had popped up around the country and decided to build Haiti’s first permanent cholera treatment center with the support of health care provider Les Centres GHESKIO. The center, which is nearing completion, has an on-site wastewater treatment facility that prevents the recontamination of water in the area. It is designed to serve the surrounding area of 60,000 Haitians in the hope of preventing the spread of the disease and future outbreaks.
Though billions of dollars were donated to the country following the earthquake and cholera outbreak, MASS noted that very little of it was making its way into the local economy. When planning the state-of-the-art facility, they collaborated with artisans and craftsmen in the area to help design and construct it using local materials.
Mackenzy Vil was one of the local metalworkers who worked on the project by hand-fabricating the ventilating walls of the facility. “If you invest in an artisan, everyone will do well,” he said, “if I get a contract, so does the entire neighborhood.” Vil was one of the many local workers who profited from MASS’s involvement in the community. “I’m so happy I participated in this project because if my grandmother or sister got sick, they would come to this hospital,” he said.
MASS co-founders Michael Murphy and Alan Ricks believe that close attention to building practices is essential to architecture with a purpose. Their mission is to “design, build, and advocate for better buildings and empower the people who build them”. So far, they’ve built schools, cancer centers, specialized treatment centers, and hospitals all over the world with this uplifting philosophy.
Students interested in learning more can visit the Haiti exhibit in the IDEA space in in the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center. The exhibit is open 1 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays through October 21. There will also be a host of accompanying lectures. Check out the Colorado College website for more information!