Sustainability by Design: The Challenge of Shelter in Post Disaster Reconstruction

AbstractThe idea of ‘sustainability’ is embedded in academia as well as in practice. It has the promise of doing something today, which will support tomorrow's generation. In practice it can be prescriptive, generalized and formulaic; which can hide the opportunity and superior value that can be achieved through “Sustainability by Design” (SbD)…. rather than sustainability by prescription.This paper looks at the particular context of post disaster reconstruction through 3 selected cases studies, namely i) The house design for Delmas 19 in Port au Prince following the Haiti Earthquake in 2010, ii) The provision of appropriate roofing assistance following the 2013 Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in the Philippines, iii) The winterisation strategy of shelter (and non food items) following the 2014 Floods in Northern Afghanistan.The post disaster context by it's nature requires “doing something today” but how will that “support tomorrow's generation”? The case studies have been selected to underline the SbD approach in practice and how the link between these two was sought