Artist Lopi LaRoe in her geodesic dome prototype. She hopes to ship several to Haiti for use as temporary shelter. — Photo by Rachel Eisley.

The earthquake which destroyed many populous areas of Haiti in January, 2010, has displaced approximately 1,000,000 people.  Although calls for donations and fundraisers have been frequent in recent months, much of this aid has yet to reach the people who need it most. To help close this aid gap, local Bushwick artist Lopi LaRoe was compelled to envision a project to help alleviate the most basic and urgent need of displaced Haitians: safe and durable housing. LaRoe plans to visit Haiti in May with materials for 10 geodesic domes of her design which can house 10 to 20 people each and are able to withstand severe weather conditions.

I was able to interview LaRoe while sitting in the first prototype dome currently erected at 3rd Ward, one of the many local organizations which has donated space and resources to the artist during her construction and planning phases.  In this interview, LaRoe relates her inspiration and process for the project which she hopes will become a prototype for further relief efforts.    

"Domes for Haiti" is greatly in need of further monetary donations, which can be made through the website. Tonight, there is a benefit silent art auction at Sugarland in Williamsburg featuring many major New York and Brooklyn artists including Swoon, Imminent Disaster, Ray Cross, LaRoe, and others.  The silent auction will run from 8-11 pm followed by a dance party and the $5 cover will be directly donated to the Domes project.

What was your first inspiration for the project?

In a "back to nature" expedition, my family moved from our fairly normal suburban home in Schenectady, New York, to the Adirondack mountains where we built an eight-sided octagonal log house in the 1970s. Our family did all the work, we cut down trees, we cleared brush, we barked the tree by hand, we got so filthy because we didn’t have a shower. While we finished construction, we lived in a lean-to, a little shack made of sticks and tarps, much like what people are currently living in Haiti. Trying to go to school and be a normal clean kid was pretty much impossible.  We didn’t have electric lights so we couldn’t even see how dirty we were.  We’d think we were clean, but then get to school and realize that we had dirt everywhere. 

How did you feel about it?  

Although we approached it as a fun experiment, it wasn’t fun all the time.  I would get pissed off.  We had to work really hard and I would have rather been playing, or swimming or eating ice cream — doing normal kid stuff.  Although I did get to do really awesome stuff like use a chain saw… I would never change the experience for anything in the world.  It really formed who I am, it really affected me. I developed a deep love of the natural world, an appreciation for living without all of the modern conveniences, the ability to live that way.  

How did you conceive of the project? 

I was in Mexico during the Haitian earthquake on a trip to learn about natural building.  I was very close to Haiti during the earthquake and witnessed crazy weather as we were on the coast.  When I came back I became really obsessed with the idea of building a dome for myself and living in it, and after I returned to New York and learned more about the trajedy of the earthquake and the displaced people, I thought about how I could design portable domes to take there.  I kicked the idea around for a few days and it wouldn’t leave me alone, so I started seeing if I could do it.  The first thing that gave me the thumbs up was AFYA Foundation said that they would ship all the domes for free for me.  As long as I knew I had shipping, I could get this done.  So I started on this project at that point.  It’s evolved a lot.  

What are the materials of the domes? 

Construction materials are steel, bolts, and vinyl.  I have 3500 feet of 1-inch conduit pipe donated to me from Turtle and Hewes – $2000 worth of metal. We’re using UV-resistant rip-stop vinyl fabric for the covers donated by a large company called Bird Air.  John Laidman of Laidman Fabrication got so excited about the project that he offered to do it for free, cutting, pressing, drilling, and color-coding all of the struts. He’s delivering them this week to 3rd Ward. 3rd Ward has been so supportive of the project by giving me access to their woodshop and metal shop, and providing me space to build the prototype dome. I also want to give a shout-out to Bushwick Art Project. The first time I set up the dome, I did it there, and spent a lot of time there working on the development of the first prototype cover. 

Have you encountered any difficulty with the design of the dome?  

Our first prototype actually failed in many ways.  It was from a pattern from the internet, it had too many pieces, the measurements were off, and a lot of things didn’t work.  But that’s why you build a prototype, because you can find out what works and doesn’t work.  

I’m currently working with Ryan, the art director from Duggal, who is helping me build the 2nd prototype.  We developed the pattern together, he got all of the measurements exactly.  We will then print it full size onto the vinyl and then heat-weld it together instead of gluing it.   

How long have you been living in New York? What are some of the projects you’ve been involved with here? 

I’ve been living in Brooklyn since 2005, on the border between Bushwick and Bed-Stuy.  My most recent projects have included participating in the Swimming Cities of Switchback Sea on the Hudson, the Swoon project. I was in the play, as was one of the monologists. I was also a crew member and helped to build the boats, and make the sails.  I’ve also collaborated with the Madagascar Institute, with my good friends Iris and Ryan.  I’ve worked with the Band of Bicycles and the House of Yes, and with Burning Man.  Burners without Borders has my project up on their website.  Big shout out to Bushwick Print Lab, Ray Cross has been awesome, I’ve spent many hours working there recently. I received my BFA from SUNY Purchase in 2005 in painting and printmaking and have been involved with performance art as well through my career.  

What is the next step of the project?  

We had hoped to get everything completed by May 1st.  Its been pushed back at least to the 15th.  What’s causing the hold-up is the cover design, its been very difficult to make it streamlined to make it cost effective.  Its way more difficult to get it fabricated for free because it’s a huge amount of work.  

What is your non-profit status? 

I have a fiscal sponsor, Not an Alternative. Both the Buckminster Fuller Institute [ed. note: Buckminster Fuller invented the geodesic dome] and Burners without Borders have been extremely supportive as well. 

What is your next step in the fabrication of the domes?

Right now I’m trying to find a manufacturer to make the dome covers for a reasonable cost.  At the least they will probably cost about $1,000 a cover so I will have to raise an additional $10,000 to finish the construction for the initial 10 domes.  Additionally I want to send a tool kit with each of the domes.  They need to be able to anchor the dome to the ground.  Ideally each kit will have a shovel, a post-hole digger, a sledgehammer, a pick axe, a metal rake, and a tamping rod.  If I can’t get all of them, I want to send at least a shovel and post-hole digger.  I recently read in the New York Times that Haitians are digging with sticks.  

What’s the best way to help your project?

Money.  We need so much money.  We need at least $15,000.  We have a donations button on our blog and website, and the option to donate directly to the project, or through the non-profit.  We need people to come to the art auction Thursday night, Swoon has a print in it, Imminent Disaster, Tod Seelie, me, a bunch of great artists, Ryan O’Connor.  There will be a performance too, Rachel Sage, she’s pretty well known.  We really want to get people to come to the auction and learn more about the project.