Aho Architects maintains a state of readiness to rapidly respond to building-related disasters. Our team members have extensive experience with all-hazards disaster situations and qualifications to help you recover quickly. We have served clients impacted by all manner of disasters from flooding (roof leaks, burst pipes, riverine flooding/storm surge/inundation), tornadoes and straight-line winds, hurricanes, fires, explosions, geotechnical disasters (sink holes, subsidence, slope failures),  structural collapse, vandalism/anthropogenic disasters, pandemic/pathogenic issues related to buildings, and more.

We have a proven track record helping clients navigate complex insurance/reinsurance claims processes, code changes, cleanup/stabilization/temporary accommodations, and effective recovery and restoration. Experiencing the initial disaster is bad enough. Our aim is to be your trusted advisor and to make the recovery process as painless as possible.

Please contact us anytime if we can be of assistance.

Marks Village Building #20

Aho Architects was selected by the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District to serve as their Architect for the re-building of Marks Village Housing Community Building #20 after the original  was destroyed in a natural gas explosion on December 17, 2013.  With sensitivity to the tragedy, Aho Architects worked quickly to bring restoration to this site and, thereby, this community.

Building #20 contains (2) two-story, direct-entry units, a 2-Bedroom and a 3-Bedroom Unit, and fits within the footprint of the original building.  The exterior façade was designed to blend with the other 498 units in the community, with a few key improvements to enhance and update the esthetics.  The new building also included several safety improvements including a fire sprinkler system and code upgrades.  All components of the building were designed for durability while maintaining a residential look and feel.  

Aho Architects team members are trained in post-disaster building safety assessments and providing expert volunteer assistance to communities impacted by disasters.  We hold the required credentials and certifications to operate in the FEMA Incident Command System and can serve as various FEMA NIMS Resource Types.  We have experience deploying in a variety of disaster types and have all-hazards training.  We also have extensive connections to a national network of disaster coordinators and hundreds of trained responders.

Our founder, Tim Aho is passionate about disaster response and is an active leader in the field, serving two terms as Chair of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Disaster Assistance Committee, Alabama AIA’s State Disaster Coordinator, a FEMA NIMS Post-Disaster Building Safety Evaluation Strike Team Leader, and a CalOES Safety Assessment Program Certified Trainer/Coordinator/Evaluator.  He has led the AIA’s State Disaster Coordinator Network and trained more than a hundred architects, engineers, and code officials in post-disaster building safety assessments.

Aho Architects Staff Qualifications:

AIA and CalOES Certified Safety Assessment Program (SAP) Instructor/Trainer, Coordinator, and Evaluators

FEMA NIMS Resource Type Qualifications:

• 10-509-1447 Post-Disaster Building Safety Evaluation Strike Team Leader
• 10-509-1445 Post-Disaster Building Safety Evaluation Strike Team Technical Supervisor
• 10-509-1448 Post-Disaster Building Safety Evaluator (Types I, II, and III)
• 10-509-1446 Post-Disaster Complex Architectural System Condition Evaluator
• 07-509-1476 Architect

FEMA coursework:  IS 100, 200, 700, and 800, P-2006, P-2055 certificates.

When deployed to a declared disaster, all our work is only done at the invitation of emergency management officials and on a voluntary basis without compensation.