Design for Disaster
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"A disaster zone where everything is lost offers the perfect opportunity for us to take a fresh look, from the ground up, at what architecture really is."
-Toyo Ito.

As more natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts strike, architects and designers are called upon to the ultimate problem solving task. It is of essence that designs for disasters provide immediate and versatile housing and safety yet are long lasting enough to withstand the wear and tear of time.

Here are some of the ideas proposed by architects and designers to save lives in distress:
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Nizip II, Container Camp. Tobias Hutzler, 2014. Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy: Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter, MoMA.
Hikaru Imamura's Heat Rescue Disaster Recovery Kit
Recycled from disused metal barrels, Hikaru Imamura's Heat Rescue Disaster Recovery Kit is able to deliver warmth and food to up to 2,000 earthquake victims for 2 days.
Sandbag Shelter. Nader Khalili, 1995. Courtesy of the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture. Courtesy: Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter, MoMA.
The Second Aid Kit. Just 40 hours after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami struck in 2011, Japanese designer Eisuke Tachikawa launched OLIVE, a crowd-sourced wiki of tips and DIY advice to survive in a disaster.
Ifo 2, Dadaab Refugee Camp. Brendan Bannon. 2011. Courtesy: Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter, MoMA.
Life Box is an air-droppable, rapid-response emergency shelter that can be quickly inflated to provide housing for four people designed by Adem Onalan.
The cover of disaster preparedness guide published by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Inside pages of disaster preparedness guide explaining readers how to handle when heavy rain and strong wind disasters strike.
The Earth Manual Project exhibition poster presented at TCDC Bangkok, Thailand to raise awareness of natural disasters.
An exhibition view from "CREATION FROM CATASTROPHE - How architecture rebuilds communities"(January 27 2016 - April 24 2016) at RIBA, London.
A proposal for exhibition at MoMA, New York. Architecture Research Office and dlandstudio's New Urban Ground transforms Lower Manhattan with an infrastructural ecology. Courtesy Architecture Research Office and dlandstudio
Shigeru Ban, Cardboard Cathedral, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2013. Image courtesy Shigeru
Handsome earthquake-resistant school uses natural cooling in Northern Thailand. This Earthquake-resistant school is raised up on stilts using natural materials. Designed by Vin Varavarn Architects
Healing Bench Medical Kit by Adrian Candela
Healing Bench Medical Kit can be carried on the back of the rescue operators.
Healing Bench can be used as a first aid medical treatment stool or an emergency operating bed.
Safe toilets in the slum Project by the Oslo-based NGO initiative. Photo: Kristine Cyborg. Picture Credit: Norse Form/Kristine Nyborg
Calais, France, March 2016. Henk Wildschut, 2016. Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy: Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter, MoMA.
In anticipation of the Mayan calendar’s gloom and doom prediction for 2012, Mexican design firm, MENOSUNOCEROUNO, created this clever survival kit. Image credit: MENOSUNOCEROUNO
  Inspirations.  
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Good design is finding a solution to a problem. Great design is finding the simplest solution to the same problem.

— Nicholas Petersen
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