Fiona's design for the small Fijian community in Wailevu, Fiji, was a case study stemming from her research on the 'Role of Architect within Emergency Architecture'. The following is an excerpt of her thesis, which was prepared in partial fulfillment of Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Auckland School of Architecture.
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Just as teaching a man to fish is more valuable than giving him food to eat, designing architectural tools which
enable people to help themselves, is a better approach for mitigating natural disasters and promoting potential
community development in the Pacific than providng aid only when the need arises.
To identify a pioneering role architecture can have in servicing people affected by natural disasters; today and
in the future, is the aspiration of this thesis. The role of the architect will then be identified from this
proposal.
A design proposition embodying the conclusive principles of a new role for both architect and architecture within
emergency desgn is the outcome. My design is a tangible representation of the role of the architect being
helpful by designing the tools so that those affectd may be effectively able to help themselves; an autonomous
cyclone station for Wailevu Village, Labasa, Fiji. The station is designed as an architectural survival tool not
unlike a Swiss Army Knife of Fluxus1 box filled with possibiliies. This architectural tool will aid the village
to get through the preparation, crises and the recovery process in a self sufficient manner. It will enable them
to be autonomous without It is also the platform which enables aid to be efficiently and easily distribute when
it is needed.
The role of the architect is found to be in a moment of permanent flux between humanitarian principals and client
architect reltionship. It is here that a solution whether built or not can be found to alleviate suffering caused
by natural disaster in the Pacific hrough pure reasoning from the utilitarian ,humanitarian, global citizen
architect.
Location
- Animal Shelters
- Climate - Tropical
- Community Center
- Context - Suburban
- Disaster Mitigation - Flood-resistant
- Emergency Shelter
- Materials - Environmentally Sensitive
- Materials - Local/Indigenous
- Materials - Reused/Recycled
- Materials - Traditional
- Mobile/Demountable
- Participatory Design
- Public Space/Gathering Space
- Self-Help/Volunteer Construction
- Student Work
- Temporary Shelter
- Fiji


