WILDFIRE RECOVERY RESOURCES
Resources for Architects!
Disaster Recovery Resources for Architects
AIA COMPONENT DISASTER RESPONSE TOOLKIT (PDF)
The new fires in southern California remind us there are many things architects can do to be prepared for disaster and to help their communities recover and rebuild after disasters. Keep in mind that we are losing some exceptional architectural gems in this fire, so we are all in grief about that. It is a tremendous loss of architectural heritage, on top of the real human tragedy that is occurring.
When a disaster occurs, property owners are often caught off guard and spend the initial days and months recovering documents, dealing with insurance, finding temporary accommodations, and starting to deal with debris removal. Plus, they are going through all the emotional stages of grief. Architects can be a great help to the community and the property owners through all of this, in ways that many do not realize, helping the community and property owners figure out innovative paths forward and setting realistic project timelines.
Then come the stages of redesign and rebuilding. Architects provide professional guidance during this time, bring leadership in resilience and innovative design strategies, and face new constraints due to insurance time frames and the like. How can an architect quickly learn about responding in disastrous times to the needs of their community?
AIA California now has a Toolkit available online for AIA components and architect members to reference to understand the landscape of disaster quickly and know how to contribute effectively.
- Readiness includes all the activities that AIA components and their architect members can do to be prepared to be responsive before a disaster occurs in their community.
- Response includes the ways that architects can assist in life safety, housing, building safety assessment, and volunteering at the disaster assistance center, in the immediate days after a disaster.
- Recovery includes the support and assistance that architects can offer to communities in the months after a disaster as the community charts its best path forward regarding planning, permitting, and innovative new design strategies for resilience.
- Rebuilding includes the architect’s design and construction contributions in the years after a disaster as the community rebuilds.
- Review is the final phase, after recovery and rebuilding, where architects can review all they have accomplished and make a record of their successes including lessons learned and recommendations for the future.
The Toolkit has many suggestions and Resources to help components and members, allowing you to go right to the section relevant to your current situation.
