RED+HOUSING China : Architecture Information

RED+HOUSING is an emergency housing prototype which was constructed full-scale and opened in an exhibit at the National Art Museum of China in May 2009. It was a selected project in the AA | FAB competition and will be included in an exhibit organized in London in September 2009. Images courtesy of OBRA Architects RED+HOUSING MANIFESTO: Architecture on the Edge of Survival Architecture on the Edge of Survival involves the development of an original prototype of emergency housing for future potential deployment in areas of natural or man-made disaster anywhere in the world. Emergency housing from the point of view of design is only an extreme form of architecture. Its context is that of almost unsustainable conditions, and its object, the creation of an environment we can inhabit temporarily while living on the edge. Red+Housing proposes an approach that tries to incorporate both the advantages of fast-response solutions, such as the deployment of military tents, with those of slower and more considered responses such as neighborhood reconstruction efforts involving local traditions and user construction. The design has been developed as an in-progress embodiment of the following 10 Points of Architecture on the Edge of Survival: 1. Universal Application 2. Effective Performance 3. Economical 4. Transportable 5. Ease of Assembly 6. Renewable Materials 7. Digitally Pre-fabricated 8. Open Work 9. Urban/Rural 10. Flexibility of Use The value and need of effective emergency housing is self-evident. There are, of course, a number of different approaches to be considered and our intent is to utilize the opportunity of the architectural design process to test and explore possibilities which might best benefit victims. We feel architecture has something to contribute not only to their physical but also to their emotional and psychological well-being. Under the extreme conditions of a situation of emergency, architecture is rarely called upon to participate in the creation of temporary housing. This exhibit provides an opportunity to test how high design can contribute to apparently pre-eminently pragmatic concerns. Emergency housing from the point of view of design is only an extreme form of architecture. Its context is that of almost unsustainable conditions, and its object, the creation of an environment we can inhabit temporarily while living on the edge. Red+Housing images / information from OBRA Architects