 | Design for Fragility: 13 Stories of Humanitarian Architects Subjects: Built Environment; Global Development; Environment and Sustainability; Geography; Sustainable Development; Environmental Studies; Hazards & Disasters; Architecture; Building Types; Professional Practice; Sustainable Architecture; This book explores the themes of design and fragility and the nascent field of 'humanitarian architecture', analysing thirteen case studies of design responses to displacement, conflict and disaster. With the number of displaced people around the world today totalling almost 100 million, the demand is now urgent for architects to respond to the design and planning challenges of rebuilding cities and landscapes destroyed by civil conflict, (un)natural disasters and poverty. Over the past decade, architects have demonstrated growing capacity in working with vulnerable communities globally, helping strengthen their resilience through designing and delivering low-cost housing, health and education projects for people who typically do not have access to design. Design for Fragility investigates this emerging cohort of architects, landscape architects and urban planners, exploring case studies of designers working in vulnerable geographic sites and communities across Africa, Asia, The Middle East, Australia and the USA. Examples include an SOS Children's Village in Djibouti, Anandaloy in Bangladesh, Cobargo Santo House in Australia, and Gahinga Batwa Village in Uganda. The book will be a practical and inspiring resource for architects, landscape architects, design educators, humanitarian and development aid agencies that are involved, or seeking to be part, of future disaster mitigation and reconstruction strategies and projects, globally. Esther Charlesworth is the founding Director of Architects without Frontiers (AWF), the largest design not for profit agency in the Asia Pacific region. Esther is also a Professor in the School of Architecture and Design at RMIT University, where she founded the Master of Disaster, Design and Development degree [MoDDD]. John Fien is a Professor in the School of Architecture and Urban Design at RMIT University in Melbourne. He has lead large scale climate and sustainable development education projects for organisations that include UNESCO, UNEP and WWF in South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East. |
