Parsons School of Constructed Environments (SCE) teamed up with the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership to launch an innovative project, centering around creating design solutions for surviving natural disasters. Students in SCE took inspiration from the various works and philosophies of Hirokaza Nagata, a leading expert on disaster preparedness education from Kobe, Japan, as they developed design solutions–architecture, interior design, lighting design, and more–for surviving natural disasters. Students looked into case studies on Hurricane Sandy, the 1977 and 2003 blackouts in New York, and the September 11 terrorist attacks as they focused on addressing catastrophes related to climate change, terrorism, and infrastructure collapse. Research is provided by the Zolberg Institute on Migration and Mobility at The New School.

This school-wide intensive is one of several “stepping stone” events leading to the first North American exhibition of The Earth Manual Project, at the Sheila Johnson Design Center, in Fall 2018. Earth Manual Project is an accumulation of knowledge and ideas gleaned from the experiences of living through natural disasters. It will showcase thoughtful works by designers, artists, and architects from Japan and Southeast Asian countries, as well as fresh localized content from the United States.