While I think that this effort is needed, and, indeed, Noble, one of the key elements in the design process is sorely lacking, that being a consultation with the client, a determination of need, and how best the design, and implementation, serves and fulfills the requirements of the recipients.
Things on the ground are a convoluted Mess, to say the least. The Tsunami has exaserbated existing problems many orders of magnitude, political, religious, and economic issues have been upended, upsatged, by Dire Humanitarian concerns, but, not eliminated.
Reading through this series of posts several questions come to mind;
1.) Who is the intended beneficiary of this project?
* How are they best served?
- Are these long-term, family unit structures, Long-term community structures, short-term relief shelters, shelters to serve NGO's on the ground, and other relief efforts.
2.) What are the cultural needs of the people in the affected areas?
* Will these buildings be accepted in the long term,
* Will they meet the basic needs of the Locals? Environmental, cultrual, logistical
3.) Is one model suited to all affected areas?
4.) What is the local level of craftsmanship?
5.) What organizations exist which could serve the function of a "Client", and, answer these and many more questions?
At this time it seems WE are the client, and the need is to "Do Something", anything, even if that effort does not culminate in a perfect fit for those displaced and damaged by this staggering Natural Disaster.
While the old saw "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions" may well fit here, I do believe that the desire to respond to another's suffering is one of the wonders of being Human, and of being alive.
To do something, anything, to begin, is not in question. The logistics of what to do, and where to start is. Just as a full compliment of Doctors arriving at a fully staffed Hospital that is in great need of supplies is an example of an effort gone wrong, is it worse than the callous disregard of need altoghether?
There will be accidents and mayhaps along the way, but, let us answer some of the basic questions first, such as identifying the question before arriving at the answer.
