Constructing mud sea walls

The Indian Andaman and Nicobar islands were amongst the locations hit worst by the devastating Tsunami in South East Asia on 26/12/2004. To protect them from further flooding, the administration has initiated the construction of mud walls in the sea. The intention is to create the sea walls so that they will not only protect […]

Reconnaissance Vehicle for Atomic and Chemical Values

To answer the danger of nuclear or chemical accidents and terrorist attacks, the German Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Response (BBK) has developed a reconnaissance vehicle that can determine nuclear and chemical measurements in case of a catastrophe. The Institute for Integrated Design (IID) at the University of the Arts Bremen was assigned […]

Bamboo Bicycle Trailer

A trailer construction for developing countries has been developed by Used and Carry Freedom. One trailer is donated for every bicycle trailer sold. Construction The construction set consists of two wheels, hubs for attaching the wheels, a trailer coupling and tension ropes. In combination with local materials such as bamboo or scrap, these elements provide the […]

Google Earth and EAARL (NASA)

A cooperation between Google Earth and the EAARL (Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar), a mapping programme of the NASA, has made accessible, a tool for analyzing the advance of natural disasters and drawing conclusions for future protection. Google Earth is a programme by Google that any private or professional person can install on his or […]

SafeRhouse

A team of designers from the MIT and the GSD, and the humanitarian NGO Prajnopaya, have developed and built a construction concept for family houses that are resistant to the impact of the force of a tsunami. The analysis of the remains of houses devastated by the Tsunami revealed that while roofs had disappeared, a […]

IgluVillage

IgluVillage is an emergency housing and mobile accommodation system suitable for cold climates, fabricated out of solid polysterol foam. The accommodation units can be used both for providing housing in the event of a disaster, and for other applications, e.g., a field laboratory. Single elements are fabricated out of closed cell polysterol foam and are […]

Life Saving Debris

The question of how to respond to the impact of flooding, was the focus at “Sustainable Design Week“, concerned with “Design for Disaster” in 2005, at the “Design Academy Eindhoven“, the Netherlands. An idea of how to transform dangerous debris into a life saving object was developed: The everyday object, a bench, can be manipulated […]

Welcome to the design for disaster website

Anyone interested is invited to participate in the content of this website. Contact is possible both directly and via submit. Readers are encouraged to write comments relating to the articles. Such messages can contain e.g., a designer offering his abilities to aid in the event of a disaster, or an aid organization asking for advice […]