Earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, monsoons in India, and now the disasters in Japan. Each has left thousands displaced from their homes, giving us, as architects, reason to re-think the idea of temporary housing. In Chile, strict building codes helped some infrastructure withstand the 8.5 quake; yet, there is a limit to the pre-disaster measures a country can take. So, what are the steps for dealing with the after effects of the disaster, be it wind, water, or seismic damages?
Each world tragedy brings with it the opportunity for the creative to find solutions that will help give shelter to people. There are many obstacles to overcome in Japan’s case – roads are completely destroyed which presents quite a challenge to collect and transport material, plus snow has covered much of the region. Yet, if we could re-think the idea of a house and pool our efforts to create a system of rapid response temporary housing that can overcome such obstacles, think of the number of people in devastated areas that would benefit from such a project.
