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A designers role in post-disaster reconstruction
Seeing faces behind the figures: a designers role in post-disaster reconstruction
Transcript of presentation for pps:r exhibition, 15/3/06, by Eleanor Chapman
Note: This presentation was given before Hurricane Larry hit the Queensland coast. While I am deeply sorry for those who have lost homes and livelihoods and dont wish to downplay their suffering by any means, I find it impossible to ignore the contrast in consequences when a natural disaster strikes a wealthy first world country as opposed to a struggling developing country. No lives were lost here, and I have no doubt that the generosity of our countrys government and its citizens will assist the affected communities on the path to recovery. It seems to me all the more timely to remind ourselves that others face far greater obstacles to rebuilding.
My recent experience traveling in Central America, and particularly Guatemala, has coloured my perspective on an incident that for most of us probably only registered as a slight blip on the radar. Hurricane Stan was dwarfed by the impact of Katrina in the US and the South East Asian earthquake. If it were not for my recent encounter with Central America, and particularly Guatemala, where I continue to be in touch with a female architect (burdened both with the double charge of practicing the luxury of design in a country where most are just working on survival, and being a woman in a still deeply patriarchal culture) I have no doubt that the suffering in Guatemala would have registered only as a slight blip on the radar for me. The rehabilitation of countries devastated by natural disasters or war is a complex issue and I am no expert on the subject. I can bring to this discussion my personal experience and a sense of connection to a place and people that have been dealt yet another blow in a long history of suffering. I can only try to dig a little deeper below the statistics that are piled up for our viewing displeasure. I want designers to recognize that beyond these statistics lie individual lives, and at this level we can mobilize ourselves to act. (....)
Continue reading: http://studio-space.blogspot.com/2006/04/seeing-faces-behind-figures-designers.html
Transcript of presentation for pps:r exhibition, 15/3/06, by Eleanor Chapman
Note: This presentation was given before Hurricane Larry hit the Queensland coast. While I am deeply sorry for those who have lost homes and livelihoods and dont wish to downplay their suffering by any means, I find it impossible to ignore the contrast in consequences when a natural disaster strikes a wealthy first world country as opposed to a struggling developing country. No lives were lost here, and I have no doubt that the generosity of our countrys government and its citizens will assist the affected communities on the path to recovery. It seems to me all the more timely to remind ourselves that others face far greater obstacles to rebuilding.My recent experience traveling in Central America, and particularly Guatemala, has coloured my perspective on an incident that for most of us probably only registered as a slight blip on the radar. Hurricane Stan was dwarfed by the impact of Katrina in the US and the South East Asian earthquake. If it were not for my recent encounter with Central America, and particularly Guatemala, where I continue to be in touch with a female architect (burdened both with the double charge of practicing the luxury of design in a country where most are just working on survival, and being a woman in a still deeply patriarchal culture) I have no doubt that the suffering in Guatemala would have registered only as a slight blip on the radar for me. The rehabilitation of countries devastated by natural disasters or war is a complex issue and I am no expert on the subject. I can bring to this discussion my personal experience and a sense of connection to a place and people that have been dealt yet another blow in a long history of suffering. I can only try to dig a little deeper below the statistics that are piled up for our viewing displeasure. I want designers to recognize that beyond these statistics lie individual lives, and at this level we can mobilize ourselves to act. (....)Continue reading: http://studio-space.blogspot.com/2006/04/seeing-faces-behind-figures-designers.html
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