MASS Design Group Documentary, "Design that Heals," to Premiere at New York 2016 Architecture and Design Film Festival

Can a building help stem the tide of large epidemics?

In 2010, in the midst of the world’s worst cholera outbreak in over a century, MASS Design Group was challenged to design a cholera treatment center where the construction process, as well as the finished building, could address the underlying structural and social conditions that allow cholera to thrive.

This is the subject of Design that Heals, a new documentary that portrays the challenges, innovations, and triumph of the project, proving that, “Architecture and health are inseparable.” (Dr. Jean-William Pape, GHESKIO founder)

The 31-minute film, an official New York 2016 Architecture and Design Film Festival selection, will premiere September 29th at 6:30 and October 1st and 7:30. Screenings will be held at Cinépolis Chelsea, 260 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011.

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The film tries to answer how can we heal a community after a catastrophe by telling the story of Dr. Jean-William Pape, Haitian infectious disease specialist and Director and Founder of Les Centres GHESKIO, who has dedicated his career to combating diarrheal diseases that harm and kill Haiti’s poor.

In 2010, a large-scale earthquake devastated Haiti and its already weak public infrastructure. UN peacekeepers were brought in as part of the emergency response. Among them were soldiers from Nepal where cholera is endemic. Contaminated sewage from their camp leaked into water sources used for bathing and drinking. What ensued was one of the world’s worst cholera outbreaks in over a century.

Desperate to help, Les Centres GHESKIO set up and operated temporary cholera treatment tents for two years in order to care for the thousands who fell sick. The tents were miserably hot in the Haitian climate and difficult to keep sanitary. As the spread of cholera continued, GHESKIO realized that patient waste collected from tents being taken off site for treatment was actually being dumped back into the environment, contaminating groundwater and re-infecting people.

Dr. Pape worked with MASS Design Group to design a project that used the construction process to address the underlying structural and social conditions that allow cholera to thrive.

This documentary tells the story how GHESKIO and MASS Design Group invested both in long-term infrastructure and the Haitian people to heal the community.

Opening Night – September 28 General Admission - $20 Students - $15
September 29 - October 2 General Admission - $16.50 Student - $11.50

For a full list of Architecture and Design Film Festival screenings and events, visit the festival website, here.

• Title

  Design that Heals Documentary World Premiere

• Type

  Festival / Biennial

• Organizers

  MASS Design Group

• From

  September 29, 2016 06:30 PM

• Until

  October 02, 2016 06:22 PM

• Venue

  Cinepolis Chelsea

• Address

  260 West 23 Street