Doing our part to provide a safe, supportive, and comfortable place to call home is one of the more meaningful ways an architect can use their talents in service to others. Aho Architects, LLC is pleased to have been selected to serve 5 new public housing authority clients in the Southeast.
Habitat Build Day, March 2015
Yesterday, the Aho team spent another meaningful day out of the office and working with Habitat for Humanity on a new home for the Sanders family in the Grayson Valley area of Birmingham.
The project, sponsored by a number of local churches, is part of the "Building on Faith 2015" Lenten construction project.
Major activities for the day included:
Installing kitchen cabinets
Setting floor tile
Cutting/installing/painting trim
Painting doors and trim
Working to find a persistent water leak (that part was a little too much like our "day jobs").
Jennifer setting tile. She thought it was good to "practice" on the area beneath the base cabinets first.
Please go to http://www.habitatbirmingham.org/ to learn more about Habitat and how you can support this important ministry.
Another Successful Loan/Grant Application!
Farm Labor Housing in Rosedale, Mississippi receives funding from USDA’s Rural Development program
BDT Housing Services, with the support of Aho Architects and Technical Assistance and Training Provider, Tom Andrews with Tierra del Sol, has received funding from the USDA’s Rural Development program to build 20 new homes for farm laborers in the Mississippi delta. The homes in this new affordable housing community, called Latham-Trice Farm Estate, will achieve Silver Certification under the US Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program. The green building strategies implemented will ensure that the homes are safe and comfortable, and, at the same time, will keep utility bills low.
The Site in Rosedale, Mississippi
We were one of only 11 groups from across the nation to receive this funding for FY 2014 through a competitive process, and our application received one of the highest scores. This continues our successful track record obtaining funding for these critical housing developments.
Though a small, rural town, Rosedale, Mississippi is well-known for its delicious hot-tamales and earned it’s spot on the Mississippi Blues Trail after being immortalized in bluesman Robert Johnson’s 1937 recording “Traveling Riverside Blues” (and later by Led Zeppelin). We’ve already sampled the hot tamales from the famous White Front Café, and we’ll be sure to make that a regular stop during our visits to Rosedale.
29,749 Homeless Alabama Schoolchildren
Did you know that 29,749 schoolchildren enrolled in Alabama’s public pK-12 schools during the 2012-2013 school year are homeless according to a report released last month by the US Department of Education?
The challenge of living without safe, permanent housing often produces overwhelming emotional, educational, and health obstacles for these children as well as their caregivers and younger siblings.
Since its inception, Aho Architects has passionately served thousands of students and educators through the thoughtful design of numerous educational facilities. We do this because we understand the tremendous impact an education has on an individual’s life. As our firm grows, we desire to expand the positive impact we can effect in this region. For this reason, we are developing a stronger presence in the affordable multi-family housing market. Affordable housing and education often work hand-in-hand to promote well-being and achievement.
One of our firm’s core values is to serve others. Designing safe, comfortable, and aesthetically-pleasing affordable multi-family housing is just another avenue by which we will use our talents and energies to serve.
HABD Selects Aho for Marks Village Reconstruction
The Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) has selected Aho Architects to design a new building for the Marks Village community in Gate City.
The project will replace a structure destroyed by a deadly natural gas explosion in December, 2013. This is our first project for the HABD, and we are honored to be selected by them to be part of the team bringing healing to this community.
Aho Architects believes we are called to use our gifts and talents to help others. As such, this is the kind of project we find especially meaningful.
Image from al.com (Frank Couch/fcouch@al.com)
More information about the project may be found in the AL.com / Birmingham News article here
Work on the Boards: Multifamily Housing
What we're working on...
Recently, we prepared these sketches and a conceptual design for a proposed multifamily housing development in the Greater Birmingham area.
ANPH Receives $2.4M Funding for Rosewood Gardens Project
Aho Architects would like to congratulate our client, Alabama Non-Profit Housing, Inc. on the announcement last week that their Rosewood Gardens housing development in Russellville, AL was one of 12 projects in the country, to be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office.
You can read USDA's press release here.
Aho Architects assisted ANPH and its technical assistance and training partner, Florida Non-Profit Housing, Inc. in their application, and we're excited to be embarking on our second project for them. Previously, Aho Architects served as architect for ANPH's Casa Bonita rural rental housing project in Oneonta, AL. More info. about that project can be found here on our website.