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Irma instilled new urgency to address the islands’ housing problem. “What was an emergency prior to the storm is now a crisis—an utter and complete crisis with regards to the housing for average worker here in Monroe County,” said Mike Laurent, executive director of the Florida Keys Community Land Trust. — citylab.com
The Florida Keys Community Land Trust was developed after Hurricane Irma hit last year to help built new affordable housing, which suffered the most damage on the islands. So far the trust has four new affordable cottages under construction with plans of building 20 more. The new homes have been... View full entry
For Archinect's After the Storm mini series, we had reached out to various architecture schools in Puerto Rico to get a better understanding how the recent Hurricanes Irma and Maria — and the devastation they left behind all over the region — had impacted school facilities, academic... View full entry
Several weeks have now passed since Hurricanes Irma and Maria consecutively ravaged through the Caribbean and southern states and territories of the U.S., leaving behind a trail of destruction and overwhelming infrastructural challenges. Puerto Rico was hit particularly hard — in terms of human... View full entry
Three weeks after the category four Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico on 20 September, devastating the US Island, knocking out power and killing an as yet undetermined number of residents, local museums are back to work and helping with community relief efforts. — The Art Newspaper
While the U.S. President spent his visit in double-hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico tossing rolls of paper towels into the crowd like t-shirts at a Knicks game, the island's museums are busy assessing the damage and getting their institutions reopened to the public. View full entry
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. — Andrews University
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... View full entry
![<a href="[https://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixreguy/6005765788/in/photolist-7F6c68-bwJWT5-bg6vWP-SbW9bs-5ZdTsk-aqsLdW-a9H7W1-5Zi6ku-a9EjTK-a9EjXK-cc6WEY-a9H7Zo-a9H87o-a9EjPX-5PUSzs-5PQxz2-bUJfGH-5PQB5P-5PQAsX-bUJJb2-96sPRN-RGmNnP-5PQCYK-5PUNes-7MRmaG-5PQydx-a9H7EU-5PUUqL-a9H7B9-a9Eka6-5PUNX1-6WGD87-5PQA9x-5PUPCG-5PUZYs-o2VX3s-5PUNyq-dLaz1i-5PQywV-7MMkoD-5PQBpM-7MRk4b-5PUMW9-5PUV7u-5PURhw-5PURCQ-df93L6-cc6Na3-7MMmCM-7MRktj]">[Jay Thomson/Flirck]</a>](https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/p9/p9t1m3ks7u6j4e9o.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=514 "<a href=\"[https://www.flickr.com/photos/phoenixreguy/6005765788/in/photolist-7F6c68-bwJWT5-bg6vWP-SbW9bs-5ZdTsk-aqsLdW-a9H7W1-5Zi6ku-a9EjTK-a9EjXK-cc6WEY-a9H7Zo-a9H87o-a9EjPX-5PUSzs-5PQxz2-bUJfGH-5PQB5P-5PQAsX-bUJJb2-96sPRN-RGmNnP-5PQCYK-5PUNes-7MRmaG-5PQydx-a9H7EU-5PUUqL-a9H7B9-a9Eka6-5PUNX1-6WGD87-5PQA9x-5PUPCG-5PUZYs-o2VX3s-5PUNyq-dLaz1i-5PQywV-7MMkoD-5PQBpM-7MRk4b-5PUMW9-5PUV7u-5PURhw-5PURCQ-df93L6-cc6Na3-7MMmCM-7MRktj]\">[Jay Thomson/Flirck]</a>")
Homebuilding could slump further in September in the aftermath of Harvey and Hurricane Irma, which struck Florida. According to Census Bureau data, the areas in Texas and Florida that were devastated by the storms accounted for about 13 percent of permits issued in the nation last year. — Reuters
Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have held down home completions in Texas and Florida, but the hurricane's aftermaths are also likely to slow homebuilding in the coming months as resources are redirected toward repairs and rebuilding efforts rather than new construction. Labor shortages are also... View full entry
But because of its unique setting and vulnerability to hurricanes, Monroe has long had stricter building codes than the rest of the state and has mandated some critical upgrades...Most importantly — homes must be elevated above the flood plain to allow storm surge, which is the deadliest part of a hurricane, to pass underneath living spaces. — Miami Herald
David Ovalle reports on how building codes and precast concrete homes, reduced property damage and shaped Hurricane Irma's impact, in the Florida Keys. Via @Bruce Sterling View full entry
The American Institute of Architects released a statement this morning, in light of damage wrought by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, urging policy makers to reject any weakening of building codes. President Thomas Vonier advocated for state and federal legislators to reject attempts to roll back... View full entry
Hurricane Irma, now downgraded to a tropical depression, wrecked havoc across the Caribbean this weekend and killed at least 42 people, but museums in Florida were mostly spared from any large-scale destruction, according to early reports. Following evacuations ordered last week, residents are slowly returning to their homes and some institutions plan to reopen this week. — The Art Newspaper
Just like museums in the greater Houston area rushed to reopen again last week after Hurricane Harvey to reestablish a certain sense of civic normalcy, now institutions in Florida are busy assessing damage from Hurricane Irma, getting started on repairs, and reopening to the public. The Pérez Art... View full entry
The wildly swinging booms of three cranes at under-construction residential buildings in South Florida bent and collapsed in Hurricane Irma’s heavy winds Sunday. [...]
The cranes are a symbol of the luxury real estate development that drives South Florida’s economy, attracting millions of dollars in foreign investment, even as home prices soar out of reach for locals. The construction industry has fought against stricter regulation of the towering cranes.
— Miami Herald
While the whole extent of destruction that Hurricane Irma caused throughout Florida, Georgia, and various islands of the northern Caribbean in the past few days is still not entirely clear, the strength of the storm can be adumbrated by the three construction cranes that collapsed in the greater... View full entry
Tampa Bay is mesmerizing, with 700 miles of shoreline and some of the finest white sand beaches in the nation. But analysts say the metropolitan area is the most vulnerable in the United States to flooding and damage if a major hurricane ever scores a direct hit.
A Boston firm that analyzes potential catastrophic damage reported that the region would lose $175 billion in a storm the size of Hurricane Katrina. A World Bank study called Tampa Bay one of the 10 most at-risk areas on the globe.
— washingtonpost.com
Published more than a month ago, long before Hurricane Irma was even on anyone's forecast, this piece by Washington Post writer Darryl Fears tells the tale of Tampa Bay as a seeming paradise, with its 4 millions residents, hot real estate market, lofty development ambitions, construction boom —... View full entry
