Open Architecture Network

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

This proposal comprises two parts: suggestions for the Pakistanis’ use of rubble and tents to provide shelter over the short term, and ideas for a new way of thinking about their shelter over the long term, that would be resistant to earthquake damage and more in tune with Muslim culture.

Called “Wrapped City,” this proposal takes the clothing and textile traditions of the region and extends them to the scale of buildings. Rather than rebuild the masonry and concrete structures that proved unable to resist the earthquake forces in the area, Wrapped City would cover the remnants of the remaining walls and structures with large-scale textile roofs. This would have several benefits:

• It ensures that the buildings remain low to the ground and modest in scale, improving their resistance to future earthquakes, • It provides a light-weight form of enclosure, flexible enough to move with earth tremors, • It echoes the Muslim custom of wrapping the human body in flowing textiles, using the same techniques of layering for warmth, • It utilizes the existing textile-making capacity of the local industry, while greatly increasing its market through the making of shelter, • It enhances the privacy and comfort of inhabitants by providing layers of fabric, creating visual barriers and rain screens.