2009 saw Brooklyn street artist Swoon organise 'The Swimming Cities of Serenissima' consisting of a fleet of handmade boats and a crew of artists traveling the Adriatic Sea from Slovenia to Venice last May and June.

This year in 2010,  Swoon alongside Ben Wolf have been working in Haiti assisting in the re-build after the devastating effects of the earthquake that claimed so many lives in January of this year.



She has developed and designed a prototype shelter for the homeless Haitians; a durable domed structure, made from wood and gravel sandbags, after watching disaster-stricken scenes in Haiti earlier this year on the news.

The super-adobe technique of earth bag architecture is an extraordinary building design for its ability to create earthquake, hurricane, flood, and fire resistant structures, using inexpensive and locally available resources. Originally designed by Nader Khalili and continued by Cal-Earth, the approach specifically addresses the world wide need for adequate housing. This system of building provides an easily replicable model, which can be built without using specialized construction machinery and participated in by the men, women and children of any community. Utilizing 90% earth, and only 10% cement, these structures are stronger than the now common cinder block and concrete slab construction. The technique also uses little to no wood, an invaluable asset in timber depleted Haiti.

More info and up to date information on this project can be found here.

http://blog.konbitshelter.org/