AfH Austin September News

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Sep 5, 2008, 2:06:00 PM9/5/08

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Architecture for Humanity Austin

September 2008 Newsletter

Next meeting:

The September meeting will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the
back patio of the Cedar Door, 201 Brazos Street.

AfH Austin has a lot going on. Don't you want to help?

Remember: Volunteering with AfH is a great way to get IDP or
Continuing Education hours.

Project Updates:

Busch Park Musical Play-Scape Design/Build, Biloxi, Mississippi

After several design charettes and a trip to Biloxi, this project has
transformed from a shade structure renovation to an overall master
plan of the park. Our design/build aspect has been refocused to
another element developed through our master plan. We will be
creating a musical play-scape within an existing grove of trees on
the site. This will give the park a unique play space and highlight
natural features of the site. The project will consist of 3-4 musical
installations to be partially constructed here in Austin. At the park,
initial construction phases are under way, with work done by Hands On
in Biloxi. This is a great design and construction opportunity to
contribute to an underserved community and have fun experimenting
with materials and construction techniques.

Atemajac Church, Atemajac, Mexico

Work on the rebuilding the church in Atemajac, Mexico (near
Guadalajara) has resumed. A small group from AfH Austin will be
making a short trip to Atemajac in the fall to take site
measurements. Design work will begin shortly thereafter with the goal
of construction documents being complete by March 2009. Groups from
the University of North Texas, University of Kentucky and AfH Austin
will build the church in May/June '09. One to two volunteers are
needed now to help with site measurements. Anyone interested in
working on any phase of the project is encouraged to get involved
now.

Texas Homeless Network

We are putting the final touches on our transitional housing study
for the Texas Homeless Network. Once it is complete, we are going to
let them consider it for a few weeks and then meet with them to
discuss their options. The group will discuss more specific plans at
the monthly meeting.

IMPORTANT! Help at the AMD Fund Raiser here in Austin

Architecture for Humanity and AMD are teaming up to celebrate the
Open Architecture Challenge. In October 2008 AMD will host a
fundraiser for the Africa Challenge
<http://www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/node/1248>
. We need volunteers immediately to help coordinate this event. AfH
Austin is hoping that work on this event will help inform our own
local fundraising efforts as well as bring our projects into the
public eye. This fundraiser is critical to our success over the next
year and we encourage anyone with free time to please consider
lending a hand. You can squeeze it in, can't you?

AfH Competition: What Can You Do With That Mattress?

Every year in the U.S., 40 million mattresses get thrown in the
trash. Don't our mattresses deserve another chance? The problem is,
the nature and construction of mattresses has made them difficult to
dispose of.

Architecture for Humanity and Rubicon National Social Innovations
invite entrants to create innovative ways of converting used
mattresses into useful products. The competition aims to encourage
entrants to form groups capable of creating a consumer product,
instructions detailing how to make the product, and a plan for
production on a larger scale.

Dec. 5 is the deadline for registration and submission. For complete
details, click here
<http://www.icebase.com/r.pl?VZc5ZBeYzRTwcneo_0fb793ede22de2fe>
.

Volunteer Website Manager Needed

AfH Austin is looking for someone to keep our website up to date with
past and current project information. This would involve a lot of time
up front and less time as we get caught up.

AfH Austin People: Changes and Additions

This month, Samara Spence will be stepping down as co-director. She
will remain involved with the AfH Austin steering committee and with
individual projects. She will be replaced by Nicole Joslin, a former
Architecture for Humanity Design Fellow. Fred Hubnik will remain in
the other co-director seat. Members can vote to approve this change
at the monthly meeting.

We have a volunteer public relations manager! Theresa Everline has
worked for years as a journalist <http://www.theresaeverline.com>
and as a marketing writer and is a big fan of AfH's mission.
(Doesn't this want to make you volunteer, too?) She'll be responsible
for creating a monthly newsletter (what you're reading now) for
meeting announcements and other news. Other announcements and updates
will also be sent out on an as-needed basis.

Thanks for reading!

Architecture for Humanity Austin

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