Ramboll uses bamboo to build earthquake-resistant housing in Indonesia
Civil engineering company Ramboll has worked with locals in Lombok, Indonesia, to build three quake-proof housing prototypes that are made almost entirely out of bamboo. More
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ZAV Architects completes home with veiled balconies for orphaned Iranian girls
Balconies with adjustable covers pepper the brick facade of the Habitat for Orphan Girls designed by ZAV Architects in Khansar, Iran. More
Architecture students build latticed-wood community centre in German refugee camp
Architecture students from Germany's University of Kaiserslautern have built this wooden community centre for a refugee camp in Mannheim, which is fronted by a latticed screen. More
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"Poverty should never be an Instagram filter"
Iwan Baan's arresting images of the Kenyan school built by architect duo Selgascano are a typical example of the slum porn that has infiltrated western media, argues Phineas Harper in his latest Opinion column. More
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Humanitarian experts propose turning refugee camps into enterprise zones called "refugee cities"
Refugee camps should be rebadged as cities and turned into enterprise zones so inhabitants can set up businesses and build their own infrastructure, according to a new report. More
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IKEA Foundation CEO says adapting refugee shelter is "like playing with Lego"
Better Shelter is the latest IKEA product to be hacked, according to the head of the company's charitable foundation, who told Dezeen the modular refugee cabin is now being used to create doctors' surgeries and schools. More
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Renzo Piano to lead recovery plan following Italian earthquake
Architect Renzo Piano has been called upon to lead reconstruction efforts in towns left devastated by the earthquake that struck central Italy last week, and to mitigate against future disasters. More
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Architecture for Humanity founders and board members sued for $3 million
The founders and board members of non-profit organisation Architecture for Humanity, which filed for bankruptcy last year, are being sued for the alleged misuse of donations. More
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UNHCR teams up with MIT's D-Lab to overhaul "very top-down" refugee design strategy
The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is working with MIT's D-Lab to develop design strategies that enable refugees to solve their own problems rather than relying on solutions provided by aid agencies (+ interview). More
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What Design Can Do Refugee Challenge unveils 25 shortlisted projects to improve refugee's lives
Dezeen promotion: 25 designs that offer a range of solutions for improving the lives of refugees living in urban environments have been shortlisted for the first What Design Can Do Refugee Challenge (+ slideshow). More
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Kunlé Adeyemi docks Makoko Floating School at the Venice Biennale
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Nigerian architect Kunlé Adeyemi has been awarded the Silver Lion for bringing his floating school to the Venice Biennale, as part of his ongoing research into building for flood-prone regions (+ slideshow). More
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Norman Foster reveals vaulted Droneport prototype at Venice Architecture Biennale
Venice Architecture Biennale 2016: Foster + Partners has unveiled the first full-scale prototype of its Droneport concept at the Arsenale, which is designed to transport medical supplies to remote regions in Africa using unmanned flying vehicles (+ slideshow). More
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Agbogbloshie Makerspace Platform creates mobile workshops for world's largest e-waste dump
A team of architects have launched an initiative to build a network of "makerspace" structures at Agbogbloshie, Ghana – the world's largest dumping site for electronic waste (photos by Julien Lanoo + slideshow). More
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MoMA's Insecurities exhibition to address the global refugee crisis
New York's Museum of Modern Art has announced an exhibition of projects that aim to tackle the issue of shelter for migration and global refugee emergencies. More
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Freestanding roof spans Haiti orphanage by Bonaventura Visconti di Modrone
The zigzagging roof of this orphanage in Haiti is independent of its walls, allowing breezes to permeate the building and offer relief from the hot climate, as well as providing earthquake resistance (+ slideshow). More
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Shigeru Ban joins disaster relief effort following Ecuador earthquake
Shigeru Ban has travelled to Ecuador to help with disaster relief, following a major earthquake that has caused the death of over 650 people. More
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"Treating the refugee crisis as a design problem is problematic"
Opinion: initiatives like What Design Can Do's Refugee Challenge encourage designers to believe that they can solve international problems that go far beyond their reach, says Ruben Pater. More
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Architects for Society designs low-cost hexagonal shelters for refugees
Minnesota-based Architects for Society has developed a prototype for a rapidly deployable dwelling that could house victims of catastrophic events (+ slideshow). More
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Alejandro Aravena makes housing designs available to the public for free
Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena, this year's Pritzker Prize winner, is releasing a number of his residential designs as an open-source resource to help tackle the global affordable housing crisis. More
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Architecture for Humanity relaunches as Open Architecture Collaborative
Following the bankruptcy and collapse of Architecture for Humanity in 2015, local chapters have banded together to create a new organisation called Open Architecture Collaborative (+ movie). More
