How making houses out of paper changed aid agencies’ disaster response
Japanese architect has designed emergency shelters for victims of Nepal’s earthquakes, Typhoon Haiyan and more, and in doing so prompted humanitarian workers to forgo cookie-cutter solutions and adapt their responses to match local conditions
After twin earthquakes in April and May claimed 9,000 lives and left vast swathes of Nepal in ruins, survivors worried that if they reused the brick rubble, they would end up with the same vulnerable, seismically unsound structures. Japanese architect Shigeru Ban – who helped bring global attention to humanitarian architecture and continues to influence fellow architects and disaster-relief workers – devised a solution.
“Each disaster is different, so I have to go there to find out the particular problems to solve,” says 58-year-old Ban, who built paper emergency shelters in Haiti after the 2010 quake and the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan two years ago. “The solutions are always dependent on the climate, economy and materials available locally. And also how long they must stay. All criteria and solutions are different.”
The prototype for his latest humanitarian housing project in Nepal consists of standard timber door frames joined together and reinforced with plywood. The frames are filled in with brick rubble, and the roof is covered with a plastic sheet and thatched for insulation.
The resulting structure is strong enough to meet Japan’s stringent earthquake standards, he says. “I’m hoping people will copy my design. If we make 20, some other NGO might make more. I’m encouraging people to copy my ideas. No copyrights,” Ban says, noting he always tries to enlist the help of his houses’ future inhabitants. “If they’re involved in the construction, if the structure needs maintenance, they will know how to do it themselves.”
Aesthetics are also very important. “The government is not usually looking for beauty but I think that beauty and comfortablity is taking into account people who have suffered mentally and physically after a disaster.”