November 30, 2005
On Releasing Resistance
Following the ravages of the tsunami, a team from Harvard and MIT designed The Tsunami Safe(r) House for increased resiliancy. The Boston Globe Magazine reported on November 20, 2005 that "It employs the same number of concrete blocks as a standard Sri Lankan home but instead of using them to build walls, the team has arranged them into stout pillars that form a framework for wooden or bamboo walls. If a tidal wave roars through, the core of the house is more likely to survive. "
When members of the design team visited their prototype last summer, "they learned that the local residents had a far more poetic way to explain the concept. As one Sri Lankan put it: 'You open the door and tell the water: Please enter this way.'"
I, personally, am trying to cultivate the equanimity to go with the flow like that. (You will pardon the expression.).
Photo note: I found myself wondering how this building would fare in a tsunami. Is it already a bit lopsided? Perhaps it's photographer's lean. I do worry about city dwellers in times of disaster, though.
Posted by Dakota at November 30, 2005 05:51 AM