Hey Everyone!

We have received our project. We will be working in Granjo el Salto, which is near a chain of 22 natural waterfalls. The site for our project is owned by 12 socios (partners), and they produce sustenance from the land. Because the farm is remote, they have a problem transporting crops and generating revenue. Likewise, the remoteness of the site limits people who come to see the waterfalls to day trips. The socios give tours, and see a opportunity in building cabins for visitors to stay. We will be working on a first "test cabin" with the socios.

The socios have been preparing for this project for a while. Wood has already been collected, but they lack funding for cement and roofing materials. This is where we come in. We will be designing the cabins with the materials already gathered and other materials local to the site. The socios are skilled builders, and our first trip will be spent working with them to design our project. This is good considering too often architects like design things that are difficult to build.

We are excited to learn from this trip both about architecture and the Panamian culture! Thanks for your interest!

The trip will cost about $1200-1500 per student. This includes plane ticket and food and lodging in Panama. The construction cost will be from $5,000-6,000. If you can help us out visit the Global Brigades Donation site.

Hi!

We wanted to let everyone know a little more about ourselves. I am Laura, a Junior architecture major at Catholic University. I am from Texas, so how did I end up in D.C. ? I wanted to live in a new place and I thought D.C. would be a great place to study architecture. So far, it has been a great experience and even though I lose a lot of sleep I can't imagine being in any other major. I have wanted to be an architect since elementary school, but now that I am actually studying architecture, I know it is really what I want to be doing.

When we got together last year to start our GAB chapter, I knew it would be a lot to take on, but also totally worth it. There are many ways to be involved in service at Catholic, and my goal for this project is to make us better architects through the process of serving. We are finalizing our project and will have details soon!

Thank you for listening!
Laura Keating

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to introduce myself so everyone knows a little bit more about me. My name is Sean, I'm in my third year here in the CUArch program and loving every minute of it, including the 70 hours of work on minimal amounts of sleep. Ever since I was little I always wanted to study architecture. I think it was all the times my dad used to help me out with school projects and such. He has his degree in architecture from Catholic University, coincidence? i think not, and working with him was always just so cool to me.

I'm from a small town in northern New Jersey just west of Newark, and lived there my entire life. The jump to DC was a big one but it was just what I needed. And now this opportunity to go to Panama?? How can I resist? Especially when I get the chance to help people, which I can never pass up. I am really looking forward to this and can NOT wait!

Sean Scofield

Who-in-the-what-now?

"Iron rusts from disuse; stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind."
-Leonardo DaVinci

To combat inaction, a group Catholic University Architecture students are stepping forward. We have teamed up with a non-profit organization, Global Architecture Brigades (http://www.globalbrigades.org/project/architecture/) to serve the Panamanian Community. The five students pictured (from left) are Sean Scofield, Daniel Rojo, Lauren Sobecki, Laura Keating, and Monika Chojnacki. We are putting together this blog to spread information about our cause and hopefully gain support! Thanks so much for stumbling upon this, and taking the time to read it!

About Global Architecture Brigades:

Global Architecture Brigades (GAB) is a volunteer student-led collaborative dedicated to the design and construction of socially responsible solutions to architectural problems in rural Panama. A think tank design approach utilizes extensive community dialogue and independent research to create efficient, appropriate, and elegant structures to be embraced and utilized by those for whom they were built (see link above).

Basically what we'll be doing is taking two separate trips down to Panama. The first trip will consist of us meeting with the client and community, conducting an extensive site survey, and then assisting in the construction of an in-process GAB project. This part of the process is known as the question brigade. With all that we have learned during the first trip, we will be able to compose an efficient and appropriate architectural solution to our client's problem. We will have approximately six months to finalize a design, compose construction documents, and gather materials. During the second trip, also known as the solution brigade, we will construct our design.

About the team:

Laura Keating, President
Monika Chojnacki, Vice President
Sean Scofield, Vice President
Lauren Sobecki, Treasurer
Daniel Rojo, Fundraising Chair

We'll each be updating this with some information about ourselves, as well as progress of our CUA chapter!

-Panimanian Architecture Front (PAF)