Towards an Earthquake-Resistant Reconstruction of Nepal

Compiled by Team IAnD
Info & Illustration: Courtesy EDA

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Architects have a very significant role to play in society. Emergency and Development Architects, who are gearing up to work towards the integrated and sustainable earthquake-resistant reconstruction of Nepal make a mass appeal...

Following the violent earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25th, 2015, Emergency and Development Architects (EDA) is launching a fundraising campaign to rally architects, construction professionals and citizens, to quickly start an integrated earthquake-resistant rebuilding process in affected cities and villages in Nepal.

EDA is taking part in a coordinated approach with members of Architecture Sans Frontières International, an association of some thirty organizations including itself, working for sustainable reconstruction. This approach is made in collaboration with Engineers without borders - Nepal.

In a first preparatory phase, funds gathered will allow to deploy a team of experts, who will be assessing constructive, social and community needs, using a participatory methodology geared towards individual and collective resilience. The second phase will see experts intervene by optimizing security and sustainability of houses and social infrastructures and by taking into essential consideration local and traditional techniques and materials.

Nepal is highly exposed to recurrent seismic activity due to its location at the frontier of two active tectonic plates. On a regular basis, this activity triggers important consequences on human, social, architectural and patrimonial grounds.

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In the overall reconstruction process, whether it falls within essential needs or spiritual and/or touristic ones, the Nepalese people must withdraw from this exceptional situation the adoption of tools and resources to allow for the best possible responses to the specific seismic conditions of their country. Nepal being one of the poorest countries in Asia, this set of competencies must also take part in the national economic development.

For the local communities to sustainably make solutions their own, EDA is prioritising an operation tailored to the needs of the Nepalese people. This intervention is to be focused around durable capacity-building of local competencies, associated with the highest international standards in earthquake resistance. This is the core of EDA’s social innovation approach, performed by their teams during post-seismic interventions - particularly in Haïti, where the organization has been working since 2010.

Emergency and Development Architects is a charity gathering of 3500 architects of Quebec. Its mission is to promote, at the international level, a socially responsible architecture. It works towards the development of healthy, secure and sustainable living environments by valuing equity, dignity and resilience of the most vulnerable populations.

For further information on this association and to make a donation, visit www.architectes-urgence.ca/don