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3.5 Square Meters

Constructive Responses to Natural Disasters

Natural disasters and their consequences dominate the news on an almost daily basis. Yet government aid programs have often proven slow to respond. 3.5 Square Meters explores how individuals and communities can overcome such extreme situations without having to depend on unreliable bureaucratic measures.

Using a bottom-up approach, this volume presents a selection of projects that imagine how both cutting-edge technology and locally available materials and resources can be used to save lives in a natural disaster. Contributors to this volume—including engineers, architects, designers, computer scientists, and social activists—lay out how knowledge-sharing, story-telling, and social media can provide vital resources and communication during times of crisis. The varied and innovative projects in this volume offer hope and DIY guidance for disaster relief and prevention in the digital age.

248 pages | 186 color plates | 5 x 8 1/4 | © 2017

Architecture: Architecture--Biography


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Reviews

“A unique collection and presentation of ideas from around the world.”

Civil Engineering

Table of Contents

Foreword – Suzanne Landau
Would 3.5 Square Meters Be Enough? – Maya Vinitsky
 
Sharing Knowledge
Report on a Visit to Nepal – Shigeru Ban
Learning to Make the Earthquake Desk – Ido Bruno
Projects
Shigeru Ban + VAN: Khumjung Secondary School, Nepal
Ido Bruno and Arthur Brutter: Earthquake Desk
Michael Beach: Disaster Preparedness Open Online Courses
Nosigner Design: OLIVE
Field Ready: Humanitarian Supplies Made-in-the-Field
Burners Without Borders: Burn on the Bayou
Burners Without Borders: Pisco sin Fronteras
Burners Without Borders: Mobile Rescue Unit
 
Social Technology
How Social Technologies Are Changing Human Behavior during the Aftermath of Disasters – Kate Starbird
Projects
Airbnb Global Disaster Response & Relief Program
MIT Urban Risk Lab: PREPHub
PetaBencana.id: The Same River, Twice
The Berkeley Seismological Laboratory: MyShake
Twitter USGS: Earthquake Social
 
DIY
Developing a Temporary Home for the World’s Displaced Populations – Better Shelter
Projects
Better Shelter: A Home Away from Home
Ezri Tarazi: A Hybrid Shelter for the Rehabilitation of Disaster Refugees
Toyo Ito, Kumiko Inui, Sou Fujimoto, and Akihisa Hirata: Home-for-All in Rikuzentakata
Conscious Impact Nepal
Michael Reynolds: The Earthquake
Oliver Hodge: Garbage Warrior
Paul America: Haiti Mission
 
Storytelling
Storytelling as an Act of Resilience – Sarah Wolozin
“We Lost Everything. We Are Happy Now”: An Interview – Neta Kind-Lerer
Projects
Neta Kind-Lerer, William Briand, Anica James, Mitch Ward, and Jonathan H. Lee: Stories of the Unheard
Maya Kosover (An Israeli Story): A Birth Story
Steffano Strocchi with Giotto Barbieri: Return to L’Aquila
Andrew Beck Grace: After the Storm

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