Archinect - News

Shigeru Ban and the Voluntary Architects' Network pitch in on earthquake relief efforts in western Japan

2024-01-11T16:58:00-05:00

Shigeru Ban and the Voluntary Architects' Network (VAN) are once again in action deploying their patented Paper Partition System in the wake of the recent 7.7 magnitude quake that struck western Japan in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

The indoor privacy system that the Pritzker Prize winner first devised in the late 1980s and deployed later in response to the 1995 Kobe earthquake was installed recently at a gymnasium in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. The Prefecture is currently home to an estimated 26,000 shelter seekers, according to local reports.

Image courtesy Voluntary Architects' Network via Facebook

The VAN’s response is thus critical towards bolstering local relief efforts in the area that continues to suffer damage as a product of the more than 60 smaller quakes that have continued as recently as two days ago — potentially displacing hundreds or even thousands more.

Image courtesy Voluntary Architects' Network via Facebook

A TED talk featuring Ban’s description of the t...

AIA calls for donations in wake of Hawaiian wildfires

2023-08-16T11:51:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is soliciting a call for donations in response to the devastating wildfires that have claimed more than 100 lives and damaged countless structures in Maui.

The AIA shares: "The AIA family is deeply saddened by these recent wildfires and is working in close coordination with AIA Hawaii as recovery efforts get underway. Our 97,000 members and extensive resources are being activated to support Hawaii’s health, safety, and welfare in the weeks, months, and years ahead. AIA’s past experience with disasters of this magnitude tells us that the recovery process is a long, arduous road that architects can, and must help navigate, to make communities whole once again. We cannot bring back what has been lost, but together we can help find a new way forward."

This summer has seen a spate of natural disasters across the West, including the record heatwaves in Arizona and other wildfires in Colorado and the Mojave Desert. The concerted effort of archite...

Hapi Homes donates 10 “foldable” residential structures in Odesa

2023-04-07T11:33:00-04:00

A new gift facilitated by the Ukrainian Red Cross has installed 10 new “foldable” modular home designs from Hapi Homes, LLC. to the beleaguered historic port city of Odesa.

The gift is meant to house local families that have been displaced as a result of the ongoing conflict. The two-bedroom units come fully furnished and are set to be delivered later in the month in an effort to alleviate the burden on local workers – all doctors, nurses, teachers, and engineers, respectively.

The company says: “The prefabricated homes are prebuilt and folded by Hapi Homes and assembled on-site. Each home is “plug-and-play,” and will be assembled in less than 8 hours. The homes will be located on a 2.4-acre site that the city hopes will ultimately house more than 70 homes."

Image courtesy Hapi Homes LLC.

Each design offers a total of 420 square feet of space for the workers’ families and includes a kitchenette, private bathroom, dining, and living room, with double-layered tempered glass windows, ...

Likely increase in Louisiana construction jobs following destructive hurricanes

2020-11-04T10:35:00-05:00

After three hurricanes made landfall in Louisiana over the past few weeks efforts to recover after the storms may boost the state's otherwise bleak jobs market.

According to The Advocate, "Hurricane Zeta made landfall in Louisiana just three weeks after Hurricane Delta and roughly nine weeks after Hurricane Laura. Combined, the storms were estimated to have caused more than $10 billion in damages."

With efforts arising to rebuild, various regions throughout the state are experiencing some growth in temporary construction jobs, Kristen Mosbrucker writes for The Advocate.

Shigeru Ban builds temporary shelter for flooding victims in Japan

2018-07-17T14:17:00-04:00

World-renowned architect Shigeru Ban sprang into action again in a disaster zone by setting up temporary “homes” to give flooding victims here some much-needed privacy. Ban, members of his Voluntary Architects’ Network (VAN) and student volunteers used recycled paper tubes and pieces of fabric to create partitions for evacuees in the gymnasium of the Sono Elementary School in the Mabicho district on July 14.

Torrential downpours and subsequent floods and mudslides have devastated parts of Western Japan in recent weeks. With over 250 people dead or missing and more than 8 million people under evacuation order, this has reportedly been one of the country's most severe natural disasters in years.

Pritzker Prize laureate Shigeru Ban joined the relief efforts with VAN, the Voluntary Architects' Network he's leading, and his award-winning, low-cost, easy-to-assemble cardboard tube emergency shelter system to create a sense of privacy for evacuees having to spend their nights away from their flooded homes in an elementary school gymnasium in Okayama Prefecture.

"It is our mission as professional architects to make living environments better. We are just doing our job," said Ban.

Image: VAN - Voluntary Architects' Network

Image: V...

Andrews University architecture students help with disaster relief in Puerto Rico

2017-10-02T15:56:00-04:00

Beginning in July 2017, the graduate Urban Design Studio began to pursue a service project (..) to assist with the design of new housing and public spaces in a flood-prone, impoverished informal settlement in central San Juan. The studio planned to visit the site and engage the community in a participatory design process beginning on Sept. 26, 2017. But then hurricane Irma hit, followed by hurricane Maria on September 20—an event that will change the island forever.

Graduate architecture students from Christian University Andrews will participate in disaster relief efforts in Puerto Rico as part of their studio class. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on September 20th, 2017. Since then, most of the island has been left without electricity and cellphone coverage.

Brute Force: Atlanta's endangered Breuer, Ban's disaster relief efforts, and a honking huge lobby for driverless vehicles on Archinect Sessions #63

2016-05-05T14:31:00-04:00

This week on the podcast, Donna, Ken and I discuss the uncertain future of downtown Atlanta's brutalist Public Library (the last building Marcel Breuer designed), how Shigeru Ban's relief efforts in Ecuador relate to his celebrity, and the emergence of a heavy-hitting lobbyist group for driverless cars in the US.

Listen to episode 63 of Archinect Sessions, "Brute Force":

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The campaign to save Marcel Breuer...