Each year around 90,000 people are killed by natural disasters including earthquake, tsunami, flood and wildfire. These disasters have affected 160 million people, a number which has increased alongside both urbanisation and a growing global population.
These disasters destroy infrastructures, buildings and roads in affected areas leading to economic and social issues like reconstruction, economic recession and refugees. In particular in urban areas, the high density of population and buildings can result in more serious losses and resettlement problems.
In exploring how to carry out post-disaster reconstruction in urban areas, it is necessary to consider resettlement of the affected people and housing reconstruction. It is also imperative to maximise the use of urban spaces in areas with high-density buildings and large populations to rationally allocate housing reconstruction and the resettlement of people.
Temporary housing has played a huge role in disaster recovery in the past. It was able to rapidly provide a four-meter living space for people who lost their houses, while also buying time for subsequent recovery. However, a lot of temporary housing is unsustainable and wasteful which, in turn, can slow recovery and generate large amounts of construction waste after a disaster.
This project will explore how temporary housing can evolve into permanent housing as a flexible structure, enhancing sustainability and, to a certain extent, contributing to local recovery.
