After Hurricane Katrina, AFHny organized a team of volunteers to travel to Biloxi, Mississippi to do construction work with the non-profit Hands On (an AFH collaborator), and also to assist with AFH’s Biloxi Model Home fair. The Model Home fair kicked off a housing pilot program with an event that presented Gulf Coast families with architect-designed prototypes. Families chose a home design that the architect would develop according to their needs. The innovative model home program ultimately provided design services and financial assistance for the construction of a number of new homes for families in East Biloxi whose houses were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Construction on one of these homes has been completed. For further details on the Model Home Program, visit the Open Architecture Network.

During their first trip to Biloxi, AFHny volunteers helped AFH with design documents related to the fair, and also ran workshops for children while parents examined models and drawings for new homes.

AFHny will continue to collaborate with AFH through fundraising projects and by creating opportunities for volunteers in New York City to participate in building efforts around the Gulf Coast.

Special thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Robert Polidori for allowing us to photograph our Biloxi team in the exhibit, “New Orleans after the Flood: Photographs by Robert Polidori.”