AIA Architect features Open Hand Studio’s project with Jamaa Birth Village
June 20, 2024
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AIA Architect recently published an article that shines a light on the maternal health crisis in the United States and emerging projects and resources available to pregnant women and families. The author focused on a few architectural projects, and we’re proud to share that Jamaa Birth Village, an organization we have worked extensively with over time, is featured.
The article highlights upcoming projects that are striving to decrease the maternal death rate in the United States through design. Disturbing statistics show that the 22.3 deaths occur per 100,000 live births, but for Black women, that rate is 2.2x greater than the general population.
We originally helped Jamaa Birth Village reimagine their health clinic in Ferguson, Mo. Now, we've embarked on a second phase with Jamaa Birth Village, and our partner Tao + Lee Associates. This effort will create a postpartum care retreat a block away from the original clinic. The space will empower women with access to doulas and newborn care specialists.
Our Maggie Bailey and Brian Silva explain their thoughts behind building a space that replicates African customs and cultural norms — something the Jamaa Birth Village founder Okunsola Amadou envisioned from the very beginning, in the AIA Architect piece.
The postpartum retreat is a space that will allow mothers to heal and for their families to have access to postpartum care and educational resources. Brian Silva told AIA Architect, “The birth center is foundationally tied to family and the village, enabling the experience to become a spiritual and celebratory event.”
