Write an argumentative essay of at least 2000 words on an issue related to the role of the profession of Architecture or Interior Architects
The role in architecture in order to combat the possibility of natural disasters is varied when it comes to rebuilding and housing before, after and during the natural disasters. Their essential knowledge and invaluable skills about, building materials, design and attention to detail is imperative in the prevention of damage to buildings. However, unless the architect’s role begins to change similarly to keep up with our changing environment, buildings today can’t withstand the increase number of natural disasters, which our world today is coming to terms with. Natural disasters being, “changes
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Many architectural details and materials needed for repairing the remaining historic buildings are when there are majority of problems. The effects of the urban layout and architectural style of villages after the rebuild alter the culture of the communities affected.
According to several studies the blame after natural disasters has been turned to the lack of responsibility of architects when planning their designs. Take Chris Clarke owner of a brand new, spacious, open plan three bedroom home in Callignee situated in the Gippsland region of Victoria’s east. In less than a week after completing his house which took ten years planning and building the worst bushfires of the state, commonly known as ‘Black Saturday’ burned through and destroyed it. Two hundred houses in the region burned to the ground, as similarly to Chris’ was built within meters of trees and surrounded by acres of bush land. All that remained of Chris’ home was a single brick wall, concrete foundations, his kitchen bench, pool and a two story steel frame. Since this natural disaster the building codes have strengthened in this area with a greater number of regulations being enforced. Examples include no decks being allowed to be built outside unless you use fully fire rated timber, and adopting the best technology using the latest materials including cladding in fire resistant weathering steel and cocooning
Architecture is a physical manifestation of the needs and aspirations of a society and is determined by few factors – context, climate, environment, and socio-cultural aspects of a place or a region. It includes not only monumental and professionally designed monuments but also quaint residential structures built by craftsmen and lay people for their own use. It includes the interrelationships of the built and open spaces within the larger landscape. (Tipnis, 2012)
Although architecture has no precise definition, it can range from being defined as an art, practice, or complexity of designing something, to being a challenging profession in itself. It is said that “architecture serves a purpose, stand erect, and is capable of moving us emotionally.” For one to understand how architecture is seen by the creator, it is important that we understand the theoretical underpinning of architecture, of its time, and also how it advanced up to that time. “Architecture is that great living creative spirit which from generation to generation, from age to age, proceeds, persists, and creates, according to the nature of man, and his circumstances as they change. That is really architecture.” Architectural
Hickory Estates is a community where buildings in the 1920’s through the 1940’s where build very quickly. This community has sloping streets, and is located above the Clearwater River. This area has single-family homes constructed with multistory, and wood-framed built homes. The population of this community is 6412 residents. Due to the era the homes were built in, a typical problem is the connection between the wood frame and the foundation. The lack of steel reinforcement can cause major damages due to its weak points0. An earthquake can cause the wood frame to come off its foundation, foundation cracks, the chimney breaking at the roof line, and the cripple walls (the walls between the top of the foundation and the floor diaphragm) to crack. This is why Hickory Estates has 8% of homes that will be uninhabitable after an Intensity IX earthquake.
Critical incidents require immediate action (Levinson & Granot, 2002). Additionally, they also require ongoing support in order to ensure that they are correctly managed and the long-term effects are mitigated (Schneid & Collins, 2001). Addressed here are four specific events - earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, and tornados. There are ways to mitigate the damage of these events, and there are also ways to try to prepare for them. Additionally, the type of response to these events is important as is the recovery from them. For earthquakes, mitigation is limited. It is possible to build houses and buildings stronger and more able to withstand shaking, and in earthquake-prone areas the cabinets often have latches and large appliances are strapped to the wall (U.S., 2007). People who live there should also have emergency supplies of food and water, and should be prepared for an earthquake by knowing information about evacuation routes (U.S., 2007). The response to earthquakes and the recovery from them are usually strong, because the areas that are most prone are also most prepared. When an earthquake hits in an unusual area, however, it can take much longer to help people and to rebuild the infrastructure.
The ability to rebuild after a natural disaster depends on the population strength and the government timely response to the disaster. The government’s response to natural
Disasters are bound to strike at a given time and they more often find us unaware, this is the sole reason why the majority of the disasters that happen are usually fatal and destructive. This then calls for the need to try as much as possible to prevent these disasters and in particular in our cities. This is due to the fact that in the cities there are large populations that live close to each other or work in offices crammed together hence the likelihood of a disaster turning absolutely fatal if and when it strikes. However, due to the inevitable nature of these disasters, it is upon us to make adequate preparations that can enable us to minimize the effects of the natural disasters as much as possible when and if they happen.
In June 1995, a devastating earthquake called the ‘Great Hanshin Earthquake’ hit Kobe, Japan. It nearly destroyed the entire city and resulted in thousands of homeless people to be left in despair. (Fukushima, 1995, para.1) After analyzing the immediate needs of the situation presented, architect Shigeru Ban took it upon himself to come up with an innovative design for building these emergency shelters in response to the extreme needs of the victims (TED Talk, Emergency Shelters made from paper, para.9). This new type of design became known as the ‘Paper Log House’. The house has three main factors that focus on the needs of the victims of the disaster. First, it’s inexpensive and the materials can be found very easily. Second, the structure
With nearly two decades experience in consulting engineering and construction, I know that in order to weather storms and disasters you need a good set of blueprints and quality contractors. We do the same thing now for each of our clients by first collaborating with them, designing their ideal plan and then help them through the years build their dreams in to reality. Our intention is to - Impact Lives Throughout Lifetimes.
For the purpose of the discussion in this paper, the disaster concept described in the recovery phase will be according to what is described as being “deadly, destructive, and disruptive events that occur when a hazard interacts with human vulnerability” (McEntire, p. 3). This concept of a disaster also takes into consideration the disruption of humans’ lives and their daily routines (McEntire, 2015).
Commercial insurance plays a major role mitigating the effects of a disaster but does not solve the problem. If a larger disaster occurs a minute detail could lead to an insurance company refusing to pay for any damage. Due to large increases of insurance claims in natural disasters a lot of attention has been placed on this issue by the government placing economic strain. Also higher premiums are a typical result. Insurance companies have also been reluctant to cover higher risk areas (e.g., flood prone environments and flood insurance). Due to the large amount of issues with commercial insurance, the government has created its own disaster/insurance fund to help pay for floods. This would qualify only newer houses with disaster preparedness qualities for state insurance. Structural preparedness has, in the recent years, been more reliant on the individual. Therefore flood plain management, structural
Resilience is a very popular word nowadays, not only because of the sea level rise threat, but all hazards caused by climate change such as increase in frequency and strength of natural disasters that demand resilient measures as pre-mitigation planning to avoid catastrophes. Cities around the US have been strengthening their building and zoning codes to prevent destruction, loss of lives and properties. Newer structures are built to endure disasters, and older structures are retrofitted to survive. Historic properties, however, are vulnerable for being regulated by national, state, and local laws.
The most recent disaster policy has been accounted as the policy that is included in the structure that defines the categories of finding the effective study of the situations that lies in terms of the national or federal disaster policy. Such a policy in the United States of America has been developed first in the year 1947, about 150 years ago (Baumgartner& Jones, 2015). However, the policies and the statures of functioning have been passed through a number of amendments that are liable to beincluded in the production of effective functioning in order to reduce the hazards that might come as a part of the aftermath of any natural disaster that takes place within the country. However, the policy has been extended in various regions that effectively include the states that are covered under the legislation of the United States of America. A number of stances have been aggravated within the same in terms of production of the
After Hurricane Andrew leveled parts of Florida in 1992, building codes were revamped, and architects, engineers and builders made note of where structures had failed and adjusted their building practices accordingly. Responding to catastrophe by observing causal relationships and adapting behaviors is what makes humans
In the novel, “Architecture” by Jonathan Glancey discusses the beginning of Architecture and how much Architecture has grown over the past years. In his book, he tries to inform and educate readers and other architects about the old and new styles that we are using today and how they were used during the 1880s. Glancey purpose was to apprise people about the different styles and techniques that are used around the world for architecture. Furthermore, he wants people to know how those different styles are being implemented to our buildings and our designs today. Glancey wants everyone to have more information about architecture, so they can formulate their own ideas and manufacture what they want to build. This book informs us about the different uses of materials that they use for architecture around the world such as plastic reinforced with glass to columns, floor plans, poche, brick, stone, wood, and much more.
Contemporary designers and architects are addressing the short and medium term needs of people who require emergency and refugee shelters, by evaluating the requirements of people once they have been displaced from their home due to a natural disaster, or any other adversity that they may face. This article will compare and contrast different types of emergency shelters, both short and long term, and appraise the key considerations that contemporary designers and architects must make while creating these refuges.