How Architecture Can Bring a Community Together - Part 1

National Flag tied to Tree Branch

In keeping with our philosophy of using architecture and building as a means of improving the quality of communities and people's lives, we recently had the opportunity of traveling to Honduras to participate in a twelve day volunteer mission construction project in the north coastal city of La Ceiba, approximately two hours east of San Pedro Sula.  Between February 23rd and March 6th, Hernan, Carlos, and I traveled over four thousand miles [6,400 kms.] to initiate a church building project in a small but highly populated barrio called La Julia.  


Although La Ceiba has a population of approximately 300,000 people, the La Julia district is characterized by small, narrow, and mostly unpaved streets that wind around and through the tightly packed buildings in absolutely no observable pattern.  Little children play soccer barefoot on the dry, dusty streets in front of their homes till 9:00 o'clock at night, and the pulsating African beat of traditional Garifono music known as el "Punto" can be heard till well after midnight.  It is into this environment that we ventured to build a church on one of the open lots in that part of town.  

Children of La Ceiba

La Ceiba's social and cultural fabric is a fascinating mix of Spanish, native Indian, and afro-Antillean descendants with no apparent separation due to race, religion, politics or even social class.  Although La Julia would be considered a mostly poor region of town, it is not unusual to observe large, well built houses fit onto lots between houses of considerably more modest means.  The church building site is located in an important area, adjacent to two open lots, which the church hopes to acquire in the near future and convert into a recreation area with a half basketball court, mini soccer field and children's playground.  This would represent an extremely important addition to the area.  A centrally located area of town which would serve the religious and social needs of the community.

Existing Church

The actual building that will eventually be replaced by the new church is currently in irretrievably deplorable condition, and without intervention would undoubtedly and ultimately result in total collapse.  The structural deficiencies are only the most visibly obvious.  The existing acoustic, lighting, and environmental properties of the building are terrible at best, however the church members have adapted as well as they can, and should be commended for their flexibility.


Upon arriving on Wednesday at the international airport in San Pedro Sula, we drove our rental car two hours east toward the north Atlantic coast through some of the most pristinely beautiful countryside with unending views of the mountain range to the south as we wound our way toward our destination.  After a short stop in the sleepy beach town of Tela, we arrived in La Ceiba shortly before sundown at about 6:00 in the evening.  We immediately met with our contact, Pastor Julio who indicated that some of the legal documentation required for the project had not yet been completed.  Undaunted, we set out early the next morning toward the ubiquitous "Municipalidad" [Municipal Building found in most every town in Latin America].

Municipalidad de La Ceiba

Upon our arrival at their beautiful and brightly painted building, we were greeted with the reasons why a building permit could apparently not be granted.  Recent government sponsored studies had revealed that precisely the area in which we intended to build was in what they referred to as a "zona de alto riesgo" [high risk zone].  That meant that because of La Julia's proximity to the ocean, coupled with the fact that its elevation is located almost exactly at sea level, in combination with the country's location within a hurricane region, it was determined that the risk to occupants of any new constructions would be too great.  


Undeterred, Hernan, Honduran and originally from La Ceiba, immediately went into action. He explained why the studies could not apply only to that particular region of the city.  His extensive knowledge of the city's geography and historic development was impressive and, combined with our prepared drawings indicating our consideration of those factors, were obviously vital in convincing the local authorities to grant the permit, although they finally relented on condition that a full set of construction drawings be prepared and signed by a registered Honduran architect or engineer.


No problem.  Brother Delio, builder by trade, and our other main contact, introduced us to Civil Engineer Torres, who kindly accepted, and understanding the philanthropic nature of the project, agreed to provide all services, including signing, stamping, permitting, and the required construction observation at a considerable discount.  This whole process took all of Thursday and Friday to complete, meaning that, although we had lost those two construction days to paperwork and documentation, we could now at least begin work early on Sunday with most of the church members present to help.  This is the point at which a community began to come together.


In our next post [Part 2] we'll analyze some of the social contacts and factors that go into the making of architecture a reality.