8. The New Houses
The first ten houses are finished, and families of La Prusia are living in them.
Harvard Graduate School of Design, PARC Foundation &
Casas de la Esperanza:
partnership across borders for empowering People, Families and Communities.
admin@casas-de-la-esperanza.org

1. The Well
3. The Blue House for 8 Volunteers

                        Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD)

    Harvard GSD included in the spring semester of 2008, the project of ACE 2 as one of its
    “studio options”, directed by Prof. Teddy Cruz, for grad students of Architecture, Landscape and Urbanism.

    They have been working on an overall development plan for La Prusia, with the design and construction of
    private homes and communitarian buildings. This collaboration involves Harvard graduate students
    in an International Development Project, making them aware of the challenges facing the world’s poorest
    communities and empowering them  to use their skills and resources to contribute to the fight against poverty.
    The designs they have created and their contribution will benefit the citizens of La Prusia in the short term with
    quality housing, and in the long term with new education and expertise that will be marketable skills.
    They will help also to develop innovative Architectural techniques in Nicaragua.

                                         PARC Foundation




                         PARC (Planning + Art Resources for Communities) Foundation
    Its mission is to strenghthen communities in need by serving as catalyst for the
    development and promotion of contemporary architecture + art

                                                            www.theparcfoundation.org

    EH&D thanks Harvard GSD and PARC Foundation for bringing to La Prusia their innovative perspectives
    to explore housing and shared infrastructure as integrative tools to generate urbanism at the scale of the poor
    neighborhoods and questioning the role of architects in facilitating social organization and community cohesion.  
    In this context, all of us will be working in La Prusia with the premise that no advances in housing design
    can occur without reorganizing the existing social, political, and economic structures, in order to promote
    alternative systems for 'in' and 'co' habitation.

                                                   Saturday 14th March 2008
ACE 2
THE SECOND ACE PROJECT, ONGOING
Casas de La Esperanza

Casas de la Esperanza,
La Esperanza Housing & Development
(ACE)
is a non denominational, non political
NGO, tax exempt: 501 (c) (3).  It
develops housing and provides technical
education to families who are currently squatters,
living on the outskirts of
Granada, Nicaragua
Cezanne,THE WELL

Thirteen graduate students from the Harvard Graduate School of Design  (GSD) and the Professors in charge  
of the studio, the PARC Foundation, some Architecture students of the UAM and volunteers of EH&D in
La Prusia, Granada, Nicaragua. In EH&D1, in front of the School Workshop.
Meetings with ddifferent groups of adults about the most urgent needs and wishes of La Prusia.
Meanwhile, Megan had activities with the children.  
ACE2 has: 1. A Well
2. The "Cuidadores":
Carlos Porfirio & Estebana del Carmen with their family
The GSD's scale model
On May 9, Harvard GSD's team presented
its proposal of project for ACE2.

The Project of La Prusia was presented at the Auditorium of Harvard University GSD

Julia Watson MLA, DK Osseo-Asare MArch, Juliana Silbermins MAUD
Anne Vaterlaus MLA, Christine Canabou MArch, Quilian Riano MArch
Simon Bussiere MLA, Chris Ryan MArch, Sara Lynch MArch, Brian Yang MArch
Aron Chang MArch, Kristen Von Minden MArch, Doug Miller MArch
Directed by Teddy Cruz, assisted by Andrew Sturm


7. The three buildings for common services
Under the direction of the Teddy Cruz's studio we have started
the construction of three buildings for professional training
and small business at the entry of the second project.
5. The play ground

Casas de la Esperanza
ACE,February 2012
Casas de La Esperanza provides homes, micro-loans, medical care, education, job
creation, hope and dignity to the slum dwellers of La Prusia, Nicaragua.
UN Millennium Development Goals, Goal 7, Target 10:
"Reduce by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking water"
6. The "bodega" (Warehouse)
Encounters with the Community
4. The Yellow House for 13 Volunteers
The  Land
ACE has bought in La Prusia a beautiful piece of land.
This second lot has about 360,000 square feet. We call it ACE 2

Since then, Teddy Cruz, Quilian Riaño, Cesar Fabela & Simon Bussiere have continued
working on the design of the houses, the common services buildings
and the common areas of the second ACE project.

Many other architects, engineers, carpenters, etc. have collaborated in a very generous way:  
David, Fernando, Lola, Mercedes, Angela, Pablo, Nacho, Laura, Verónica, John, Cristian,
Edu, Albaro, Liz, Dane, Ryan, James, Luis and many other volunteers.

Thanks to all of them the second project is in progress and it will allow new families of the
slums of La Prusia to substantially increase the quality of their lives.