Emergency Architects Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Emergency Architects Foundation is a French
non-governmental organization
,
reconnue d'utilité publique. It is organised as a not-for-profit foundation with the French Order of Architects as supporters and is accredited by the United Nations
and the European Union
.
The Emergency Architects Foundation is also present in Australia (Emergency Architects Australia) and in Canada (Emergency Architects Canada).
The aim of Emergency Architects is to bring help and technical aid to the victims of natural, technological and human disasters, not only in safety and security evaluations of the populations but also in post-disaster reconstruction programs focused on long-term development and risk mitigation.
in Picardy, France as a result of the flooding of the River Somme in 2001. A group of architects formed the organisation so as to mobilize technical assistance to the disaster victims and protect the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Emergency Architects Australia has been founded in 2005 and Emergency Architects Canada in 2007. Their presidents are Andrea Nield and Bernard Mac Namara.
Emergency Architects has already led 28 actions in 24 countries, made more than 39,600 assessments and about 8,500 buildings.
At the moment, the foundation is undertaking 12 programs in the following countries: Afghanistan
, Solomon Islands
, Indonesia
, Lebanon
, Pakistan
, Peru
, Sri Lanka
Chad
, East Timor
and Australia
.
They always work with local populations and use local materials in their buildings.
The foundation employs 533 persons from 23 countries. Overall, more than 1,200 architects and engineers have been involved in Emergency Architects achievements in 21 countries.
Emergency
Rebuilding
Re-house displaced populations.
Promote the training of locals, from masons to architects.
Africa
Asia
Europe
America
Oceania
Two international prizes for the Sigli, Indonesia Project:
and:
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
,
reconnue d'utilité publique. It is organised as a not-for-profit foundation with the French Order of Architects as supporters and is accredited by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
The Emergency Architects Foundation is also present in Australia (Emergency Architects Australia) and in Canada (Emergency Architects Canada).
The aim of Emergency Architects is to bring help and technical aid to the victims of natural, technological and human disasters, not only in safety and security evaluations of the populations but also in post-disaster reconstruction programs focused on long-term development and risk mitigation.
History
The Emergency Architects Foundation was created in April 2001 by Patrick Coulombel (architect) in AmiensAmiens
Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...
in Picardy, France as a result of the flooding of the River Somme in 2001. A group of architects formed the organisation so as to mobilize technical assistance to the disaster victims and protect the rich cultural heritage of the region.
Emergency Architects Australia has been founded in 2005 and Emergency Architects Canada in 2007. Their presidents are Andrea Nield and Bernard Mac Namara.
Emergency Architects has already led 28 actions in 24 countries, made more than 39,600 assessments and about 8,500 buildings.
At the moment, the foundation is undertaking 12 programs in the following countries: Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Aims
The main objectives of the Emergency Architects Foundation are:- to support and develop architects' humanitarian engagement in France and worldwide and thus to contribute to the development of architecture,
- to train architects with skills to help populations affected by natural, technological or human disasters,
- to encourage architects training in France and in the World
- to preserve and promote architectural, historical and cultural world heritage.
Functioning
The architects, engineers and planners have used their professional expertise (knowledge of risk prevention and of building) to provide appropriate and sustainable assistance to the populations affected by natural (tsunami, earthquake), technological (chemical factory explosion) or human (civil) disasters.They always work with local populations and use local materials in their buildings.
The foundation employs 533 persons from 23 countries. Overall, more than 1,200 architects and engineers have been involved in Emergency Architects achievements in 21 countries.
Fields of operation
The foundation takes part in the following operations:Emergency
- Cartographic Evaluation Missions and Field work evaluation, in order to allow to the architects to quickly understand the disaster and its effects on the population, to estimate the extent of damage, to identify and define the human and logistical means for ensuring the immediate safety of populations and their quick rehousing.
- Facilitate ethical partnerships between Emergency Architects, local communities, local governments and aid organisations.
- Safety of the populations by the installation of safety perimeters around damaged construction which could present potential danger, survey public services and housing, organize strategies for stabilisation or evacuation of inhabitants in case of danger, and by identifying strategic methods to provide security of a population.
- Missions in Refugee camps to improve living conditions of refugee populations in these Refugee camps.
Rebuilding
- Help to rebuild sustainable and decent housing and restore basic economic and education infrastructure.
Re-house displaced populations.
- Risk prevention: Analyse relevant environmental, urban, technological and architectural factors with regards to rebuilding safely.
- Capacity building: Preserve traditional know-how while adding features to make them resistant to future disasters.
Promote the training of locals, from masons to architects.
Actions and interventions
FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
- Floods of the SommeSommeSomme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
Region (2001) - AZF chimecal factory explosion (2001)
- Floods of the GardGardGard is a département located in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region.The department is named after the River Gard, although the formerly Occitan name of the River Gard, Gardon, has been replacing the traditional French name in recent decades, even among French speakers.- History...
Region (2002) - Earthquake in Martinique (2007)
Africa
- Algeria, Bourmerdès earthquake2003 Boumerdès earthquakeThe 2003 Boumerdès earthquake was a magnitude 6.8 Mw earthquake that occurred on May 21, 2003 in northern Algeria. The epicentre of the earthquake was located in the town of Thénia in Boumerdès Province, approximately 60 km east of the capital Algiers...
(2003) - Morocco, Al HoceimaAl HoceimaAl Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644 and is the capital of the Taza-Al Hoceima-Taounate region...
earthquake (2004) - Chad, Refugee camps in the east of the Chad (2007)
- Sudan, displacement refugee report (2007)
- RDC, displacement study
- Mauritius, slum remediation (2008)
- Madagascar, earthquake2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
(2004) - Senegal, schools building program
Asia
- Bangladesh, floodsFloods in BangladeshThe South Asian country of Bangladesh is prone to the natural disaster of flooding due to being situated on the Ganges Delta and the many tributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal. The coastal flooding twinned with the bursting of Bangladesh's river banks is common and severely affects the...
(2004) - Iran, Earthquake in Bam (2003)
- Afghanistan, Training Workshop in Kabul (2004)
- Indonesia, 2004 tsunami2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
(2004) - Sri Lanka, 2004 tsunami2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
(2004) - Thailand, Khao LakKhao LakKhao Lak ) is a seaside resort located in the Takua Pa district in the Phang Nga province, Thailand and popular as a departure point for liveaboard scuba diving trips to the Similan Islands....
Island (June 2004) - South Asia, 2004 tsunami2004 Indian Ocean earthquakeThe 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
(2005) - Pakistan, 2005 Kashmir earthquake2005 Kashmir earthquakeThe 2005 Kashmir earthquake was a major earthquake centered in Pakistan-administered Kashmir known as Azad Kashmir, near the city of Muzaffarabad, affecting Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It occurred at 08:52:37 Pakistan Standard Time on 8 October 2005...
(2005) - Indonesia, May 2006 Java earthquakeMay 2006 Java earthquakeThe May 2006 Java earthquake occurred at 05:54 local time on 27 May 2006 , in the Indian Ocean around south-southwest of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, near Galur, on the southern side of the island of Java , 10 km below the seabed, with a magnitude of 6.2, according to the U.S....
(2006) - Palestinian territories, reconstruction in Palestinian camps (2009)
Europe
- 2002 European floods2002 European floodsIn August 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damage of billions of euros in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia....
(2002)
America
- Grenada Island and Haiti, Hurricane IvanHurricane IvanHurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
and Hurricane JeanneHurricane JeanneHurricane Jeanne was the deadliest hurricane in the 2004 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the season, as well as the third hurricane and fourth named storm of the season to make landfall in Florida...
(2004) - Peru 2007 Peru earthquake2007 Peru earthquakeThe 2007 Peru earthquake was an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale that hit the central coast of Peru on Wednesday, August 15, 2007; it occurred at 23:40:57 UTC and lasted for about three minutes...
(2007) - Canada, Contribution to the housing of underprivileged people (2007)
Oceania
- Solomon Islands, rebuilding post tsunami/earthquake (2007)
- Australia, construction of a temorary village after bushfires (2009)
International accreditations and awards
The Emergency Architects Foundation has received several awards:- The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs: contract for actions of international solidarity as an accredited French Foundation. It is now a foundation reconnue d'utilité publique.
- The European Commission: A signed accord with ECHO
- The United Nations: Consultative status with EROSOC and collaborations with agencies UNHabitat, UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, WWFWorld Wide Fund for NatureThe World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
, UNOSATUNOSATUNOSAT is the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Operational Satellite Applications Programme, implemented in co-operation with the European Organization for Nuclear Research... - Union International Architects: 2008 signed partnership agreement
- EAA is a signed signatory to the ACFIDACFIDThe Australian Council For International Development is an independent national association of Australian non-government organisations working in the field of international aid and development....
Code of Conduct and became a full member in 2008. EAA has OADG status.
Two international prizes for the Sigli, Indonesia Project:
- 2005 IFI AWARD, for Quality of Project and services to Humanity
- 2006 Sustainable Development Prize from Imerys International
and:
- 2008 Marion Mahony GriffinMarion Mahony GriffinMarion Griffin was an American architect and artist. She was one of the first licenced female architects in the world, and is considered an original member of the Prairie School.-Biography:...
Prize to Andrea Nield - 2009 prize: Habitat, Architecture, Environnement, mention initiative
- One of Citations of the World Architecture Community Awards 4th cycle.