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In the immediate aftermath of an earthquake, the need to provide shelter and privacy for those affected is outranked only by the need for food and water. As such, a lot of effort is now put into planning for disaster: how will shelters be distributed? How can they be built cheaply, in large numbers? The answers to these questions have usually led to a standardized design, distributed to any part of the world in the days after an earthquake strikes.

But is this the best way to deal with these natural disasters? Architecture Global Aid, a group based in Spain and Japan, thinks not. They're developing a series of lightweight, fold-able shelters which are actually distributed to earthquake-prone areas in preparation for future earthquakes, rather than in response to one. And unusually, these "Origami Houses" have different designs to suit conditions in different countries.

Read on to find out more about these Origami Houses

The fertile Anqiu region of China’s Shangdong Province is known locally as the land of “cultivation, stone hills, and creeks.” Thus, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting’s (LITTLE) design for Anqiu’s new cultural campus and fitness center is based upon these very elements.

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