Designing An Earthquake-Proof Village

"Wampler invented the term, [microvillage], he says, to capture the sense of a small, technical community—something more than just homes grouped together. According to his definition, a microvillage incorporates design that recognizes local architectural traditions while exploring the newest technologies; fosters a sense of community (something that gets lost amid the high-rises of a big city); and provides economic self-sustainability (if inhabitants can create microindustries within the village, they won't feel pressed to migrate to the cities)... The final design called for 50 units in four-family buildings with light steel frame-bearing walls and site-cast concrete foundations—flexible, earthquake-proof structures. As important to the students as structural stability, however, was honoring the architectural and cultural heritage of Turkey with two-story buildings of local materials like stucco."