Shelter after the Disaster: The
Alternative Housing Pilot Program
Podcast: 2007/2/20 - 16:49
Presenters: David
Downey, Assoc. AIA,
CAE and R. Kirk O’Brien, AIA
Moderator
David Downey, Assoc. AIA, CAE
Managing Director, AIA Center for Communities by Design
David Downey, Managing Director, AIA Center for Communities by Design, joined the
AIA national staff in July 2004 charged with establishing the AIA Center for
Communities by Design as the premier resource for architects and citizens interested in
building healthy, sustainable, safe, and livable communities. Under his direction the
Center develops resource tools and education programs, provides design assistance
teams to local communities, and leads the AIA disaster response program nation wide.
The Center for Communities by Design strives to become the most effective AIA
volunteer program for members to develop and demonstrate civic engagement expertise,
build their professional network, and contribute to their profession.
David has gained significant experience as primary AIA staff person responsible for
maintaining and refining the national component’s disaster response program. David’s
experience includes the AIA’s response to the 2005 Southeast Asia Tsunami, hurricanes
Katrina and Rita, and other response efforts for local flooding and tornados. The Center
is currently implementing the AIA’s Disaster Assistance Comprehensive Response
System which has been designed to prepare all its members for future disasters and
position AIA architects as key resources in the recovery and rebuilding of communities
following a disaster.
Presenter
R. Kirk O’Brien, AIA
Principal, Aedifice ideas > architecture
Disaster Assistance Committee
AIA San Diego President Elect
Kirk is the owner of Aedifice Architectural Consultants in San Diego, California. A firm
dedicated to environmentally conscious and sustainable building technology including,
multi-family / In-fill residential, including affordable and single family housing.
As Government Advocacy Commissioner for the AIA San Diego Chapter, he was
appointed to serve as the AIA’s “Fire Response Leader” by the local AIA Chapter
president in October 2003 immediately after the Cedar and Paradise fires that destroyed
more than 2,500 homes in San Diego County. With a great deal of disaster response
experience gained in the following months and the subsequent recovery programs
provided by the San Diego chapter in the following year, Kirk was selected to
participate in re-writing the California Council of the American Institute of Architects’
Disaster Response Manual. Kirk is also trained and certified in the State of California’s
Office of Emergency Services Safety Assessment Program as a Disaster Services
Worker/ Building Safety Evaluator.