The New School
IN-26: Innovation C

During the week-long intensive, students in Parsons’ School of Constructed Environments (SCE) will take inspiration from the various works and philosophies of Hirokazu Nagata, a leading expert on disaster preparedness education from Kobe, Japan, as they develop design solutions — architecture, interior design, lighting design, and more — for surviving natural disasters. Students will look into case studies on Hurricane Sandy, the 1977 and 2003 blackouts in New York, and the September 11 terrorist attacks as they focus 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. Confronting the very real threat of natural disasters, the project reflects Parsons' and Japan Foundation's commitment to working collaboratively and across disciplines to address the most pressing issues of our time. The the design intensive is the first step in the creation of the first North American iteration of the collaborative exhibition, Earth Manual Project, which will be held at Parsons 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. The exhibition and related public programs will encourage a collaborative, interdisciplinary examination of disaster preparedness across New York City, Kobe (Japan), Chiang Mai (Thailand), and other communities to which the exhibition will ultimately travel.