Previously held in Brisbane in 2012 and Sydney in 2011, the Emergency Shelter Exhibition (ESE) comes to Federation Square Melbourne from 1-5 May 2013. This exhibition series has asked design practitioners to create prototype emergency shelters that could house people temporarily in the wake of disasters such as cyclones, floods or fires.
A shelter concept by BVN Donovan Hill for ESE Melbourne 2013.
With the harsh realities of climate change becoming increasingly apparent through extreme weather events and associated natural disasters, emergency accommodation is an area where architects and designers can apply their creativity, skills and experience to help a truly humanitarian cause. Given the recent floods, bushfires and cyclones that have caused great loss across the country, the discourse around how to respond to the physical needs of disaster relief is highly relevant to the Australian design community. The shelters provided to communities fragmented by grief and loss need to be safe and comforting spaces to support the process of regeneration and rebuilding.
Exhibiting at Melbourne will be BVN Donovan Hill, Conrad Gargett Riddel, COX, Geyer, Latitude Architects, Nettleton Tribe, SJB Architects and Woods Bagot. Teams of students working with builders will construct the shelters, which will be on display to the public for five days (1–5 May).
The Sydney exhibition, held at Customs House in 2011, featured shelters designed by high-profile local and international architects such as Lava, Ateliers Jean Nouvel, PTW and Koichi Takada Architects.
1–5 May 2013
Emergency Shelter Exhibition
Federation Square, Melbourne
