Natural disasters are undeniably increasing due to such factors as urbanization, population growth, destruction of the natural environment and climate change, and the Asian region accounts for nearly 90% of the world’s affected population.
Catastrophic natural disasters not only cause huge losses of human life, but also can result in enormous economic losses that exceed the GDP of the affected countries and inhibit the achievement of sustainable development. Human suffering is more acute in developing countries, especially those that are severely impoverished. Moreover, disasters often stem from the most unexpected and highly vulnerable elements of a society, that is, from vulnerabilities that societies tend to overlook. To address the risks that arise from these often misunderstood vulnerabilities, it is essential to conduct comprehensive, holistic and integrated disaster reduction activities in an efficient and effective manner.
This design proposal was intended as a place where all disaster risk reduction activities and management to be conducted, and operated under the banner of MERCY Malaysia (a non-profit based Malaysian NGO). It was designed in such a way that daily public activities, which took place on the proposed site before the intervention, to still continue to take place, and also to be extended into some parts of the building components programmes. This idea is to encourage public participation, which makes up what a social service organization is all about. By allowing daily operations inside the building to be seen and accessed, it is hoped that more people will be interested in joining, contributing and participating in the field of humanitarian works.
Acknowledgement: Wan Azhar Sulaiman, Norazam Abu Samah and Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood
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