FOR
HABITAT
HEALING
ABOUT US
Habitat for Healing is a student ran grass-root non-profit design organization, created in 2014 on the cusp of the Ebola crisis.
We are a passionate group of Architecture and Medical students motivated to find methods to improve the lives of persons hospitalized. With Healthcare environments being subject to constant change, it is our belief that patients with communicable diseases should be located in environments that promote healing while provide a level safety for medical professionals and the general public at large. Our key focuses at Habitat for Healing are:
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To improving the environments used by persons handling patients with communicable diseases.
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To improving the isolation environments used by patients with communicable diseases.
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To find sustainable mobile units to control the spread of communicable diseases.
It is our hope that with our efforts, units will be used where ever communicable diseases are sparking an epidemic around the world.
The Team
TINA BARNETT
CO-CHAIR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Tina is a recent graduate of Architectural Technology from NYIT College of Architecture and Design; also she obtained an Associates of Arts in Architecture at the College of The Bahamas. She is a firm believer that philanthropy and architecture can co-exist, thus, she along with her team formed Habitat for Healing and the MASH Pad Competition. Her plans for the future entail her going to Grad School to obtain Masters Degrees in Architecture and Preservation Architecture.
VICTORIA VUONO
CO-ORDINATOR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Tori is currently studying Architecture at the New York Institute of Technology- Manhattan. Along side her involvement with Habitat for Healing she also is on the board for the NYIT-MA Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Student. She looks to unite the global interdisciplinary design world so that we may find smarter solutions for challenges.
JULIANA TARQUINIO C. GUEDES
AMBASSADOR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Juliana Guedes is an Architecture student from Recife - Brazil, doing her Junior year in New York Institute of Technology. She first heard about Habitat for Healing through Professor Mruk and desided to volunteer in making this idea a real initiative. Juliana thought it was a great opportunity to take advantage of studying in a global University and try to reach different social and physical contexts, in a way of using our Academic Community to find solutions during critical moments.
NASIM GAFUR
AMBASSADOR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Nasim Gafur is a 3rd year architecture student at NYIT, with has a long history of philanthrophy, and photography. He studied at Alfred E Smith trade school, Arlington High Schoo,l where he studied engineering, and the Dutchess Community College, for two years where i received my Associate Degrees in Architecture and Construction management. Now I am at New York Institute of Technology working on my Bachelor of Architecture degree and looking to further my technical and creative skills!
CURISA SMITH
AMBASSADOR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Curisa Smith is a 4th Architecture student at NYIT. She is also the Director of NYIT's Manhattan Campus's Freedom by Design Program, Member of NYIT's Technology Committee and also an active member of NYIT's NSBE and NOMAS Chapters. She believes in a perceivable dichotomy that potentially exists between Architecture and Medicine; as both fields aim to radically impact the quality of peoples lives and their environments.
WOLFGANG GILLIAR
ADVISOR - PROFESSOR AND DEAN
COLLEGE OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Wolfgang Gilliar, D.O., is the American Osteopathic Foundation's 2012 Educator of the Year. The award honors excellence in teaching, passion for osteopathic medicine, and impact on the academic advancement of students. Gilliar is a member of an NYIT faculty-student research team studying the effect of osteopathic manual techniques on patients with Parkinson’s disease, hypertension, asthma, and back pain.
The Jury
DR. HARRIET HARRISS
PRINCIPAL LECTURE AND PROGRAM LEAD
MASTERS IN APPLIED DESIGN ARCHITECTURE
OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERISTY, UK
Dr Harriet Harriss is a chartered architect, principal lecturer and program lead for the Masters in Applied Design in Architecture at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Harriet’s ‘Live Project’ programs partner public sector organisations with architecture students to co-create real-time designs that respond to specific community challenges. This program also enables design students to gain key professional skills during their higher education training, empowering the architects of tomorrow to achieve more impactful design responses through civically engaged learning. Her forthcoming book; Radical Pedagogies: Architectural Education & the British Tradition (RIBA Publications) provides a much needed debate about the future of architectural education, placing it within its unique historic tradition and raising fundamental questions such as who should be teaching architecture? Where should they be situated and should it be viewed as an interdisciplinary, rather than silo-based subject?
ILLYA AZAROFF, AIA
DIRECTOR OF DESIGN
+LAB architects + experimentation, NY
Illya Azaroff, AIA is the founder of +LAB architect PLLC in Brooklyn and is an Associate Professor at New York City College of Technology (CUNY) where he is a recognized expert in disaster mitigation and resilient building strategies. He has worked with the Regional catastrophic planning team before Super Storm Sandy and continues as an advisor to the Office of Emergency Management, Department of City Planning and the Sandy Recovery Office. He is a contributing editor to the New York Department of City Planning (DCP), Housing Retrofit Guidelines and the Federal Alliance of Safe Housing (FLASH) Resilient Design Guild. Illya currently serves as the National Advocacy Director for the Young Architects Forum (YAF), and on the Board of the AIA New York Chapter. He is founding Co-chair of DfRR-Design for Risk and Reconstruction committee and through his efforts with the AIA and associated allied agencies he led the effort to organize the Post Sandy Initiative which received the 2014 AIA National Collaborative Achievement Award.
His twelve year track record of research on recovery efforts around the world have been published and presented on many occasions including TED X NYIT, We are not alone, and his research on Japan's recovery efforts was also published in ArchNewsNow, Sept. 26, 2014 issue, What Does Recovery Look Like?.
Illya received a in BA in Geography and a BSAS in Architecture from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and a BArch and MArch from Pratt Institute. Prior to coming to New York Illya worked in Berlin Germany and Milan Italy.
HELEN MUI, AIA LEEED AP BD+C
PRINCIPAL
BLAIR + MUI DOWD ARCHITECTS, NY
Helen Mui joined Donald Blair in 2000, and in 2012, she became a firm Principal upon formation of Blair + Mui Dowd Architects. Her primary focus is on institutional, medical, and community facilities. Past projects include the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester, the Rockaway YMCA at Arverne by-the-Sea, and the Bronx YMCA. Her work consists of projects in community hospitals, academic medical centers, outpatient clinics, and non-profit community facilities. She has significant experience with master planning and feasibility studies. Helen is NCARB certified, licensed in New York State, and is a LEED Accredited Professional with credentials in Building Design and Construction. Helen received a Bachelors of Architecture from Syracuse University.
CYNTHIA BARTON
HOUSING RECOVERY PROGRAM MANAGER
NEW YORK CITY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, NY
Cynthia Barton is the Housing Recovery Program manager at the New York City Office of Emergency Management and for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program. Her recent projects include a Post-Disaster Housing Plan for the region and The Community Recovery Playbook: A Guide to Using Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery as well as The Post-Disaster Participatory Urban Planning Toolkit, and recently oversaw production of the country’s first Urban Post-Disaster Housing Prototype (www.nyc.gov/whatifnyc). Prior to joining NYC's OEM, she served as the Managing Director of Architecture for Humanity New York (AFHny), and was a contributing editor to the book, Design Like You Give a Damn: Architectural Solutions to Humanitarian Crises. She was one of the authors of the brief for the “What If New York City…” design competition for Post-Disaster Provisional Housing for New York City sponsored by the City’s Office of Emergency Management and the Rockefeller Foundation(http://www.nyc.gov/html/whatifnyc/html/competition_archive/overview.shtml). She holds a Master of Architecture from Yale and is the recipient of a Fulbright fellowship in Architectural History and the American Institute of Architects/ Academy of Architecture for Health’sArthur N. Tuttle Jr. Graduate Fellowship in Health Facility Planning and Design for her work on “Design of Deployable Systems for Mental Health Counseling as Part of a Disaster Relief Operation.”
MATTHEW LI
CO-CHAIR - MEDICAL STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Matthew Li is a second year medical student at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. Matthew has experience in quality, patient safety, and risk management research. He is interested in toxicology, environmental health science, and critical care medicine.
FILIPPO ROMANELLI
AMBASSADOR - MEDICAL STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Filippo Romanelli is a second year medical student at NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his MBA in Healthcare Management and BS in Biochemistry at Stony Brook University. Filippo has conducted research in the disciples of Emergency Medicine and Orthopedic Surgery. His current interests are Healthcare reform and efficient patient care practices.
GEORGE W. KOUTSOURAS
AMBASSADOR - MEDICAL STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
George W. Koutsouras is currently a 2nd year medical student at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. He received his MPH in Epidemiology from the SUNY Downstate Medical Center School of Public Health in 2012 and his BS in Biology from the New York Institute of Technology in 2010. Following that, he received a Certificate in Global Health from NYIT's Center for Global Health,
ERIC KNOWLES
AMBASSADOR - ARCHITECTURE STUDENT
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Eric Knowles is currently a 3rd year Bachelor Architectural Design student at the New York Institute of Technology Manhattan Campus.
Eric is also involved in a number of professional and student organisations which include an executive position on the board of the League of Black Architects (LOBA) where he and tutors and mentors inner city African American youth who wish to go into architecture school as well lead community driven programs. He also is a member of the American Institute of Architectural Students and its Freedom by Design Subsidiary where is a senator. In this position he acts as a liaison between the group and the current Student Government Association.
FRANK MRUK
ADVISOR - ASSOCIATE DEAN
SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN
NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, NY
Frank Mruk is the associate dean for the School of Architecture and Design at New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). Previous teaching positions include Parsons School of Design, the BOMI Institute, and New York University. He is a licensed architect with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, a Certified Strategic Planning Professional, a Certified Strategic Management Professional, and a Chartered Architect in England. He has previously served as president of the Association for Strategic Planning and the Construction Specification Institute, and has also served on the Board of Directors of AIA’s New York Chapter. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Pratt Institute and an M.B.A. from Pace University.
MAKRAND BHOOT
ADVISOR - CONSULTANT
GREEN BUILDING, ENERGY, ENVIROMENT AND DISASTER DESIGN, NY
Makrand grew up in 'Gondwana' tribal/central India and went on to achieve higher education with merit scholarships in the United States of America. Makrand is one of the first USGBC LEED Accredited Professional Architects in India. In tandem with prominent professional practices in New York and Mumbai, Makrand extends a range of expert consultancy services for Architecture, Urban/Rural Planning, Interiors, Green Building, Construction Management, Disaster Resilience, Energy and Environmental Design. Community Toilets, Commercial Mix-use Towers or Carbon Neutral Townships - no client too small, no project too large for -P-A-T-H- 'Professional Alliance for Technology & Habitat' an action group founded/directed by Makrand Bhoot -weaving aesthetics & spirit in management.
JOSHUA AARON
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS, MI
Joshua Aaron is the Founder and President of Business Technology Partners. BTP staffs a team of IT professionals with expertise in IT support and years of IT project management experience that provides comprehensive technology infrastructure design services for network upgrades, data center design, relocations, renovations, disaster recovery/business continuity planning, telecommunication services coordination and other strategic initiatives. Josh is a graduate of the University of Michigan College of Engineering and holds a B.S.E. degree in Industrial and Operations Engineering. He also participates on the following boards: Director of Advancement - Entrepreneurs Organization NY Chapter Board, GSEA Subcommittee - Entrepreneurs Organization Global Board, and Industrial and Operations Engineering Advisory Board - University of Michigan College of Engineering.
HEIDI THEUNISSEN
PROJECT ARCHITECT
ODA, NY
Heidi Theunissen grew up in South Africa where she studied and worked before moving to the US. She holds a Master of Architecture from the Knowlton School of Architecture at the Ohio State University. Before joining ODA as project architect, she worked at COOKFOX as architectural researcher and designer on projects ranging in type and scale from art installations to large mixed-use developments, infrastructure projects, schools and high-end single- and multifamily residences . Her design work is informed by ideas on biophilia and biomimicry, and attempts to restore the relationship with the natural world within the built environment. She is an Adjunct Professor at the New York Institute of Technology, where she teaches architectural history. In her free time, she experiments with growing food and keeping bees in the city.
BRIAN DOWD, AIA LEEED AP BD+C
PRINCIPAL
BLAIR + MUI DOWD ARCHITECTS, NY
Brian Dowd is a Principal at Blair + Mui Dowd Architects and has been with the firm for over 10 years. His primary experience is in planning and design of institutional facilities, including complex clinical projects and research laboratories for academic medical centers. Brian is currently leading several projects at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, including a 220,000 GSF addition to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, and several research laboratory renovations. He has also recently completed a fast-track project at a major academic medical center to program and design a facility to meet CDC guidelines for an Ebola Assessment Hospital. He has experience in new construction, renovation projects, and master-planning. Brian received his Bachelors of Architecture degree from Syracuse University, and is a licensed architect in New York State, NCARB certified, and a LEED Accredited Professional with credentials in Building Design and Construction.
DR. ANURAG MAIRAL
GLOBAL HEALTH INNOVATOR, ACADEMIC
STANFORD UNIVERSITY, SF
Dr. Anurag Mairal is the Co-Founder of Orbees Medical, Director of Global Exchange at Stanford Biodesign Stanford University, Consulting Associate Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and Global Program Leader at Technology Solutions PATH. He is also a board member for the following organizations, Gurome(Stealth Mode, Chairman), Social Kids (Stealth Mode, Chairman), EPPIC Global Network, WinVivo, Stealth Mode MedDvice Co, and ViaBlaze. He obtained a MBA in Marketing from University of California, Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Porous Media, from University of Michigan and Post-Doctoral Fellowship, Membrane Science Twente University, Ph.D., Chemical Engineering from University of Colorado Boulder, M.S., Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and a B.S. Chemical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Raipur.