Jump to:Page Content Originally published in the Harvard Gazette
As the hurricane bears down on the village, the people do what
many all over the world do: head to the local school for
shelter. A place of learning in normal times becomes a place of
refuge during disasters. That is, if the school remains
standing. Illac Diaz saw a development opportunity in this dual
purpose. A Reynolds Foundation Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy
School, the Philippines native launched an international contest
to see whether planners could design a model school for
developing countries that is disaster resistant, cost-effective,
energy efficient, and adaptable to other sites. The winning
design will be used to build a school in a devastated area of
the Philippines and could be a prototype for other countries.
“My professor once said if there is something that bothers you,
it probably bothers other people,” said Diaz, a midcareer M.P.A.
student, whose company, Pier One, provides assistance to
Filipino maritime workers. While worki