When Inhabitat’s Architecture Editor,  Bridgette Meinhold, heard about the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the massive devastation it caused, she wanted to help, and was drawn to start investigating different options for temporary shelters and disaster relief housing. This exploration gradually broadened to a larger focus on design for disaster-preparedness; seeking out what type of shelters can best withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, rising sea levels and tornados. Now I’m thrilled to say that after years of research, Bridgette has just published an incredible new book entitled Urgent Architecture: 40 Sustainable Housing Solutions for a Changing World. Urgent Architecture showcases inspiring and innovative ideas for resilient design – design that will withstand the test of time – surviving climate change, rising sea levels, manmade and natural disasters. I recently had a chance to interview Bridgette about her new book at Inhabitat HQ in NYC, and she gave me some fascinating insight into her inspiration for the book, the impact climate change will have on future housing and what she believes is necessary to create a more sustainable and responsive built landscape. Watch the video above for the interview, and if you want to learn more, you can get your own copy of Urgent Architecture here.

A full transcript of the interview with pics is available after the jump.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: With Bridgette Meinhold, Author of ‘Urgent Architecture’

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", adaptable housing, book review, bridgette meinhold, bridgette meinhold interview, design for disaster preparedness, design to withstand disasters, disaster design, disaster housing, Eco Architecture, eco design, green architecture, green books, green design, inhabitat book review, Prefab Housing, resilient architecture, resilient design, sustainable design, urgent architecture

Read the rest of Spherical Ekinoid Shelter is a Self-Sufficient, Disaster-Proof Prefab Home

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", disaster-proof housing, eco design, ekinoid, ekinoid project, elevated house, global housing shortage, green architecture, Green Building, green design, house on stilts, pod house, Prefab Housing, spherical house, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

While drones are typically—and quite reasonably—associated with the horrors of modern warfare, California-based startup Matternet, Inc. hopes that a network of peaceful unmanned aerial vehicles could provide vital assistance to communities in need. Their remotely operated electric quadcopters are intended to deliver supplies to people in areas lacking in basic infrastructure, such as remote towns and villages as well as to those in post-disaster zones.

Read the rest of Matternet’s Battery-Powered Drones Could Bring Supplies and Disaster Relief to Remote Areas

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Disaster Assistance, Disaster Relief, drone, electric aircraft, electric vehicle, flying robots, Matternet, nasa, Paola Santana, Poverty, robots, rural infrastructure, singularity university, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers releases a report on the state of the nation’s infrastructure – and every year the United States receives an abysmal rating. But for the first time in 15 years, the United States actually saw an improvement in the latest report. Before you get too excited, the rating was raised from really bad to a little less really bad. For 2013, the country received a D+ on its report card, which is up from the D that it received in 2009. If the United States were a high school student, it would be on the crumbling road to summer school.

Read the rest of United States Infrastructure Scores D+ in New ASCE Report

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: America's Failing infrastructure, America's roads, American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE, ASCE Report Card, United State infrastructure, United States infrastructure spending, US dam rating, us infrastructure, US infrastructure rating, US infrastructure report card, US levee rating, US roads rating, USACE

Read the rest of Shigeru Ban’s Temporary Cardboard Cathedral Breaks Ground in New Zealand

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Cardboard architecture, Cardboard Cathedral New Zealand, cardboard tubes, Disaster-proof design, eco friendly building material, lightweight design, lightweight materials, Shigeru Ban temporary structures, Sustainable buildings, Sustainable Materials, temporary buildings, temporary church, Transitional Cathedral

A massive earthquake followed by a powerful tsunami is likely to hit the Pacific Northwest, a new study warns – and it’s expected to kill as many as 10,000 people and cause as much as $32 billion in damages. The new report issued by the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission says it’s only a matter of time before a devastating mega-quake hits the Pacific Northwest, threatening coastal communities in Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

Read the rest of New Report Predicts Deadly Earthquake and Tsunami for Pacific Northwest

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2011 Japan Tsunami, british columbia, California, Cascadia Subduction Zone, disaster preparedness, earthquake, earthquake preparedness, japan earthquake, natural disasters, Oregon, tsunami, washington

Read the rest of Post-Apocalyptic Porous Skyscraper is Nestled Into a Massive Asteroid Crater

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "clean energy", asteroids, crater skyscraper, Crater-Scraper eVolo, evolo 2013 skyscraper competition, future megalopolis, garden city design, natural light, rainwater collection system, rainwater harvesting, skyscraper design, space threats, underground skyscraper

It’s a good thing that Mies Van der Rohe’s iconic 1951 Farnsworth House is built on stilts! Just a couple of days ago, the nearby Fox River flooded its banks due to continuous rain and above-freezing temperatures, surrounding the house with water. The house is no stranger to floods – in 2008 rising waters caused severe damage to the house, which makes this week’s incident even more alarming. Fortunately, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, who runs the house, says that the water has not breached either the lower or upper decks of the house, though they have taken emergency flood measures in case it does.

+ Farnsworth House

Via A|N Blog

Photos from Farnsworth House

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: emergency flood measures at farnsworth house, Farnsworth House, farnsworth house flooding, farnsworth house on stilts, flood waters surround farnsworth house, floodwaters breaching interior of farnsworth house, fox river flooding, mies van der rohe, national trust for historic preservation

Shipping containers have emerged as a popular material for building everything from backyard retreats to temporary shelters and coffee shops. Now DARPA has harnessed the giant metal boxes for use in defense and disaster relief. The Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) links the 20-40 ft containers together like giant LEGO bricks to form floating platforms and bridges.

Read the rest of DARPA to Use Shipping Containers to Create Floating Platforms for Disaster Relief

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adjustable, caat, captive air amphibious transporters, cargo, darpa, distaster, gps, grasp lab, hook-and-tether, lego, military, modular, relief, shipping container, supplies, tactically expandable maritime platform, temp, University of Pennsylvania

Read the rest of Off-Grid Stamp House is a Cyclone-Proof Home in North Queensland, Australia

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", charles wright architects, cyclone proof home, disaster proof home, eco design, energy neutral, far north queensland, FNQ, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green home, hurricane proof home, net-zero energy, off grid home, off-grid, Solar Power, solar powered home, stamp house, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Zero energy

Architect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio.nl has been fascinating the Inhabitat editors for years with his innovative floating buildings and aqua-tecture. Far from being confined by convention — or by the boundaries of dry land — Olthuis has made a name for himself as an architect who pushes the boundaries of possibility when it comes to the built environment. With a studio focused on designing floating buildings for a future water world, Waterstudio.nl has designed everything from floating apartment complexes in the Netherlands to a floating mosque in the UAE to even an entire floating community of islands for the Maldives. While we’ve spoken in depth with Koen before about flood-resistant architecture, floating buildings and what he calls ‘sustainaquality’ — in the light of the latest tragedies that have hit Japan, we have to ask: how and relevant and sound is water architecture for today’s concerns? Read our exclusive interview where Olthuis explains the sustainability of building on water, as well as how he uses 3D modeling technology to help both clients and skeptics visualize how building on water could change the world.

This interview is brought to you by Autodesk – Accelerating Better Design.

Read the rest of INHABITAT INTERVIEW: Water Architect Koen Olthuis on Floating Buildings & Hydro-Cities

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 3d modeling, 3d rendering, 3d studio max, 3DS, aqua-tecture, aquatecture, architectural rendering, architecture software, auto desk, autodesk, building on water, Cities Built On Water, design for disaster, digital 3d modeling, disaster proof architecture, Disaster-proof design, Eco Architecture, eco design, floating architecture, floating buildings, floating cities, floating islands, flood architecture, flood design, flood proof architecture, flood proof housing, flood resistant houses, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green urban planning, hydro city, inhabitat interview, Koen Olthius, koen olthuis, Maya, maya rendering, sustainable design, sustainable urban design, tsunami proof architecture, urban cities water, water architecture, water architecture safety, water city, water design, Water studio, Waterstudio, Waterstudio.nl

For the community of Makoko of Lagos, Nigeria life on the water is nothing new. Prone to flooding, residents have dealt with encroaching waters for generations by building houses on stilts and using canoes as their main source of transport. Now, with the threat of sea level rise from climate change, and developers who want to tear the community down, Makoko is in a state of uncertainty. Nigerian-born architect Kunle Adeyemi has a vision for the city of 250,000 people that involves constructing a group of floating structures that have better access to sanitation, fresh water, and waste disposal. His first endeavor would be to build a three-story school held afloat by plastic drums.

Read the rest of Kunle Adeyemi Designs a Solar-Powered Floating School for the Flood-Prone Coastline of Nigeria

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, coastline, community, floating, flooding, kunle adeyemi, Lagos, makoko, nigeria, nle, school, tropical storms, water issues

Read the rest of Carter Williamson’s Flat-Packed Emergency Shelter Debuts in Martin Place in Sydney

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", australia, carter williamson, Disaster Relief, eco design, emergency shelter, flat packed shelter, green architecture, Green Building, green design, grid emergency shelter, modular shelter, prefab shelter, shelter, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, sydney

Read the rest of Halley VI: The World’s First Modular Research Station in Antarctica Can Climb Through Snow

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: aecom, Antarctic research station, antarctica, Brunt Ice Shelf, extreme weather, flexible architecture, Halley VI Antarctic research station, Hugh Broughton Architects, mobile architecture, modular architecture, prefab design, research stations, temporary structures

When an emergency strikes and the lights go out, it’s essential to have access to a reliable off-grid source of news. At CES 2013 Eton just unveiled their new ZoneGuard weather radios, which are equipped with features to alert you when a disaster occurs. The radio is connected to early-warning systems, so its LED beacons will flash and warnings will scroll across its screen to keep you in the loop. Specific area message encoding (SAME) from NOAA lets you set up to 25 locations. Powered by an AC adapter or AA battery, the set-up is ready for on or off-grid operation.

Read the rest of The ZoneGuard is a Disaster Radio From Eton That Keeps You Informed of Emergencies

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: American Red Cross, ces, disaster, emergency, Etón, lcd screen, LED, NOAA, radio, same, specific area message encoding, zoneguard

Read the rest of A Prototype of the AbleNook Rapidly Deployable Emergency Modular Living Unit is Now Complete

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", able nook, ablenook, Disaster-proof design, eco design, emergency shelter, green architecture, Green Building, green design, humanitarian design, kickstarter campaign, modular dwelling, Prefab, prefab home, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of Blu Homes Offers Discounts on Prefab Homes for Hurricane Sandy Victims

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", blu homes, blu homes discount, disaster-proof housing, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Hurricane, hurricane proof housing, hurricane resistant, Hurricane Sandy, hurricanes and housing, Prefab, prefab home, Prefab Housing, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of Konbit Super-Adobe Shelters are Helping a Rural Haitian Village Rebuild

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", affordable housing, cal-earth, disaster proof home, Disaster-proof design, earth bag, earth bag architecture, earth bag home, earthquake-proof, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, haiti, konbit shelter, Nader Khalili, Super Adobe, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

In light of all the dire news related to climate change, rising sea levels and the natural disasters which have stricken numerous coastal areas around the world, we here at Inhabitat would like to highlight an interview Inhabitat Editor-in-Chief Jill Fehrenbacher conducted with architect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio.nl. A studio focused on designing for a future water world, Olthuis has been at the forefront of this once unconventional, yet now timely design vernacular. Olthuis says that despite our civilization’s history of trying to drain and fight against wet landscapes for the past thousand years, our best move for the future would be to “let water in and even make friends with the water.” Read on for the fascinating interview where Olthius describes his what designing for water landscapes worldwide really means.

Read the rest of INHABITAT INTERVIEW: Koen Olthuis of WaterStudio.nl Talks About Design for a Water World

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Amphibious Houses, floating house, flood proof housing, houseboat, inhabitat interviews, Jill Fehrenbacher Interview, koen olthuis, water house, Waterstudio, Waterstudio.nl

When Hurricane Sandy hit last week and the power in my lower Manhattan apartment went out, my first thought, as I dug around for candles and LED lamps was “Well this will be a fun little off-grid adventure!” I naively harbored some romantic notion of the coziness of eating dinner and playing board games with my family by candlelight, and even actually enjoyed the first 24 hours without electricity for the chance to disconnect. However, when my gadget batteries started to die one by one, the water dried up, the food in the fridge started to spoil, and contact with the outside world began to shut down, the novelty started to wear off and the reality of the situation finally began to hit me. First my computer battery died, then iPad, then finally my phone, and I think I never fully realized until that moment how much of a lifeline these mobile communication devices are. Without even a working cell phone – my last vestige of communication – to call my family or look at the news, I had no idea what was going on around me, how much longer the power outage was supposed to last, and whether there was any help available, and I started to get desperate.

Read the rest of How The Nokero SunRay Pro Power Solar Charger Saved My Skin & My Sanity During Hurricane Sandy

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: blackout NYC, charger for power outages, compact solar chargers, compact solar power chargers, cord free lamps, designs for power outages, disaster relief designs, emergency lamps, emergency lighting earthquake lighting, emergency lights, emergency relief designs, flood lighting, humanitarian relief designs, hurricane new york, hurricane relief, Hurricane Sandy, hurricane sandy blackout, hurricane sandy knocks out power, jill fehrenbacher, new york blackout, new york goes dark, new york power loss, nokero, Nokero Crestone, Nokero Crestone Solar Light Bulb (N200), nokero Solar Battery Chargers, nokero solar charger, nokero solar charging unit, nokero solar products, Nokero SunRay Pro Power Panel, powerless new york, powerless nyc, sandy new york, sandy nyc, sandy storm, solar batteries, solar battery, solar charger, solar charging stations, solar gadgets, solar lamp, solar light, solar light bulb, solar lighting, solar power charger, solar power designs, solar power emergency gadgets, storm new york, sun chargers