Charitable engineering project to support the construction of a new secondary school in Haiti, which will eventually provide classrooms for 600 students.
IStructE Award Sustainability 2019 – Winner
Construction News Awards International Project of the Year 2019 – Shortlisted
IStructE Award Structure in Extreme Conditions 2019 – Shortlisted
AIANY Design Awards 2022 – Honour
Eckersley O’Callaghan is contributing engineering expertise to support the building of La Référence secondary school in Ganthier, Haiti, with charity KONEKTE and New York-based architects Studio PHH. Our involvement in the project forms part of our commitment to charitable causes.
The earthquake in January 2010 destroyed many schools, homes and livelihoods. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere where 70% of children do not attend secondary school and the illiteracy rate is about 60%.
Phase 1 of the project began on site on disused land in July 2017 and completed in October 2018, providing classrooms for 150 students. Phase 2 completed in 2020, adding three further modules and accommodating another 300 students. Once Phase 3 completes, the school will provide education for 600 students in total.
The structural design is suitable for local materials and basic building skills; developing a robust, safe, yet flexible building system that is resilient to seismic loading. The structures are compliant with the new building code CNBH 2012 that was based on US building standards and established after the earthquake.
