The success of our projects relies on the leadership and initiative of motivated individuals working with volunteer teams. 

Please share your project proposal with us, and our project coordinator will follow up shortly.

Thank you

Projects

Since our founding in 2005, we have provided Oregon professionals opportunities to serve those in need through projects in Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, and within Oregon. Depending on the project, we organize, design, and build. Where possible, we partner with established groups, locally and globally.

It all starts with an idea and a volunteer willing to help...
 Projects:
ACTIVE PROJECTS:
Cathlamet Town Hall
Cathlamet Town Hall Twelve AWB-OR volunteers have formed a team for planning the renovation of the Town Hall/Fire House/Library building for the town of Cathlamet, Washington.  Eight of the team members were able to spend the day in Cathlamet on Monday, February 15th, gathering as-built dimensions and information on the existing building and participating in a community design charrette.  The charrette session was attended by more than 40 members of the community, including the mayor and City Council members, the librarian, Library Board and Library Foundation members, library volunteers, representatives of the Wahkiakum Community Network, a county commissioner, citizens and students.  The next step for the team will be organizing all of the as-built information and then incorporating the community’s input into renovation schemes to be used in the town’s pursuit of financing for the renovation of this important community resource. Cathlamet Design Charrette
Reaching Hearts Academy
 

AWB-OR is currently working on a project in conjunction with Reaching Hearts 4 Kids. To find out more about this great organization, click here, and stay tuned for more details about AWB involvement.

 
Wollega Adventist Academy
Dongoro, Ethiopia
expected completion: 2010
Dongoro AWB-Oregon is developing a master plan for the school’s 40-acre campus, which includes two new classroom buildings, two new lab buildings, a new library, two student dormitory buildings, a dining facility as well as apartment buildings and single-family housing for the school’s faculty. AWB-Oregon volunteers are creating the design and construction documentation while implementing innovative and sustainable site infrastructure improvements. This new campus will give students of Wollega the unique opportunity to engage learning in a safe, comfortable setting, virtually unknown in rural Ethiopia.

Roman is currently in Dongoro! Check out his project blog.
Music Crossroads
Southern Africa
AWB-OR is working with the MC International (Barcelona) and partner organizations in Africa on music education and performance facilities.  In Barcelona AWB has added a volunteer architect to enhance face to face support for the client.  Further development of AWB-OR's concept design is pending confirmation of the programmatic vision of the five Southern African partners.
Maguililwa Academy
Tanzania
Elevations of Maguililwa Secondary School

The Tanzania project team has created a final fundraising packet that will be used for both fundraising and to generate comments regarding the level of detail required for construction.
Mercy Corps Action Center
LEED Education
The Mercy Corps Headquarters (currently in construction near the Burnside Bridge) will be a hub for cultivating innovative design solutions to solve both humanitarian and environmental issues. Mercy Corps has long realized that economical, sociological, and environmental issues are not in opposition to each other; and the LEED Education Center that AWB-OR is helping design will serve to illustrate that synergy. At one time, environmental issues may have been at a microclimate scale, but now the challenges of Climate Change are universal. As a result, Mercy Corps is educating and empowering communities through projects that will help mitigate green house gas emission and adapt to the threats of climate change, as well as continue to improve the daily life of project participants. The Mercy Corps Headquarters encapsulates these principles as a LEED Platinum building, and the LEED Education Center will illustrate the synergy between the sustainable strategies the building embodies, and how those strategies can have a profound effect on the struggles facing the rest of the world.
Tryon Farms
Portland, Oregon
Tryon Life Community Farm (www.tryonfarm.org) is a sustainable living/farming community bordering Tryon Creek State Park right here in Portland. As a non-profit organization, it is their mission to create a model environment for urban ecology, while providing educational opportunities and outreach for all ages and backgrounds. AWB-Oregon has worked with TLC Farm in the past on various building improvements, including the main barn. The current team (Jessica Pearre, Ian Bowen and Stacey Schimmelman) is assisting in making site access improvements for fire and emergency vehicles, creating more of a “one-way” traffic pattern, controlling and directing water movement over the road as well as adding a limited amount of parking to accommodate visitors.
Outside In
Portland, Oregon
Local architect Lorraine Guthrie provided pro bono design services for the Outside In tattoo removal station. The plans are ready to go, but we’re looking for a volunteer to spruce them up with colors and graphics (or potentially a 3D model). If you have a little time to spend with Photoshop, we’d love your help. Contact Christine Doidge christine.doidge@gmail.com for more information
Ray of Hope
Kenya
AWB-OR has formed a relationship with Ray of Hope and is pleased to share that Ray of Hope will be the officially sponsored charity for this year’s Portland Marathon. Although details for the AWB-OR project are still being worked out, you can help support Ray of Hope by participating in the marathon activities. Contact Project Lead Eric Wiley at ericwiley@gmail.com for further information.
COMPLETED PROJECTS:
Flood Response - 2007
Vernonia, Oregon completed: April 2008
In early 2008, volunteers from AWB-Oregon met with City of Vernonia representatives and offered design assistance in flood recovery. It was apparent that many residents and property owners would appreciate design guidance in raising the foundations of their houses above the newly updated flood level elevations. Consequently, AWB-Oregon volunteers met with many Vernonia residents in a brainstorming charrette and design session in February 2008, and produced a detailed summary of these efforts.

Download the Full Report - April 2008 (12mb PDF)
Mableville Garden & Bioswales
Montavilla Neighborhood
Portland, Oregon
Mabelville is a community-inspired effort to restore a narrow strip of misused land along East Burnside Street into a vibrant resource for the local neighborhood of Montavilla in Portland, Oregon. The project will include engineered bioswales to manage stormwater runoff, as well as a series of gardens, walking paths, bicycle racks and gathering spaces to activate the site.
New Orleans - Housing Proposal
Global Green Design Competition
completed: July 2006
In July 2006, AWB-Oregon hosted several design charettes and prepared a submittal for the Global Green Design Competition Sponsored by Brad Pitt. AWB-Oregon's submittal included sustainability, green design, and hopes to act as a model for rebuilding healthy neighborhoods after the effects of Hurricane Katrina. Half a dozen volunteers gathered over the course of a weekend to develop ideas for this competition.
Hurricane Damage Assessment
Mississippi Gulf Coast
November 2005 and February 2006
Over the course of two trips, a total of twelve volunteers from Oregon provided assessments to dozens of owners whose homes had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina. The teams were assisted by AIA-Mississippi and a generous grant from AIA-Oregon.

The purpose of this intense workshop and the subsequent report has been to assist the City of New Orleans envision the potential of designating the new infrastructure system required to control flooding in the future, as not only an engineering endeavor, but as an open-space system that would provide a new memorable image and character to the City of New Orleans.
Grade School
Bata Atha, Sri Lanka
Spring 2005
The team arrived in country with funding and access to high-level government officials that facilitated site selection for design and construction of a standard grade school. They leveraged local contributions of labor and cement for the reinforced concrete and masonry building. The team worked with a well-known Sri Lankan architect and village leaders to develop the design and start the construction process.