We know that most people have heard about the ghastly effects of the earthquake in Haiti. Our sympathy and hope goes out to all Haitians.
Architects and other people who build structures all over the world are discussing what can happen next when it comes to the idea of rebuilding this devastated country. The buildings that are destroyed were not built very well, and they cannot be rebuilt.
What kind of ideas do people have for rebuilding?
ONE interesting idea is to ship the food and supplies that Haitians need in containers – those huge metal boxes that travel on ships with all of the stuff that fills the shelves of our grocery and department stores. Then, instead of filling the containers again and shipping them out, keep the shipping containers in Haiti. Supply a kind of kit to transform these containers into livable shelters and start to rebuild right away.
On a visit to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, we saw a great use of these shipping containers used for student houses. Painted and stacked up, with windows and even bathrooms – they were really incredible. They are inexpensive and ready-to-go.
There are many people around the world thinking about shipping containers as shelter. Here is a link to one of them:
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