From the Series
Shigeru Ban’s design of 100 houses in Sri Lanka is more than a disaster-relief housing project: it’s designed to create a sense of community.
Japanese architect Shigeru Ban has designed 100 houses and a mosque in a Muslim village in Sri Lanka to alleviate a housing shortage after a tsunami hit the village in 2004.
The houses are made from locally sourced rubber tree wood and compressed earth blocks, which interlock in a LEGO-like fashion. Further, Shigeru Ban used local labour for each construction to stimulate the local economy.
Ban’s Post-Tsunami Housing project sees each house having two bedrooms and is organised around a semi-open living space. The construction is respectful of local culture through giving residents the opportunity to engage and interact with one another.
Post-Tsunami Housing has recently been shortlisted for the Aga Khan Prize for Architecture 2013.
