A Line in the Sand: Investigating the Resilience of Disaster Relief Architecture

Abstract

Environmental disasters can leave entire communities devastated, not only in terms of the loss of life and architecture, but also the loss of a community’s history, identity and memories. In the wake of an environmental disaster, relief organisations frequently provide temporary shelters to support vulnerable communities. These temporary shelters often outlive their designed lifespan and become permanent fixtures in the landscape - fixtures that are irresponsive to the established cultures and identities that form the foundations of a particular communities.

This thesis proposes that architectural design can be used to create resilience in environmentally vulnerable village communities without compromising traditional local conditions. It argues that a new framework for resurrecting an environmentally devastated coastal village community can be designed that is capable of: providing enhanced living conditions for a traditional community that are responsive to established concepts of dwelling; protecting villagers from future environmental disasters such as storm surges and cyclones; and generating a building framework that is economical and transportable while also combined with readily available local materials, and able to encourage economic growth.

It further argues that this framework can be achieved in a manner that is contemporary while still remaining sensitive to the local context, and that it can actively reflect and reinforce the established local identity through strategic integration of both local and imported materials.