In wake of deadly earthquake, Italy's prime minister calls on Renzo Piano to help reconstruction effort

2016-08-30T14:02:00-04:00

The 6.2 magnitude earthquake that hit central Italy on August 24 reduced the medieval towns of Amatrice, Accumoli and Pescara del Tronto to ruins, and has claimed the lives of at least 290 people. With over 3,000 people displaced by the quake's damage, Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzi called on "Italian senator for life" Renzo Piano to lead the reconstruction and disaster prevention efforts in response.

The current plan is to build lightweight wooden structures to house the majority of the displaced residents, and then begin reconstruction of the towns in six to eight months. Piano, speaking to The Guardian, spoke to the importance of government regulation in addition to rebuilding quickly: "Anti-seismic requirements must be inserted in the laws of the country to make our homes safe, just as it's compulsory for a car to have brakes that work."

Piano has previous experience working in "high-risk quake zones" in Japan and California, but admitted to The Guardian that working in Italy...

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In wake of deadly earthquake, Italy's prime minister calls on Renzo Piano to help reconstruction effort