How Design Marketplaces can Mitigate the Effects of Natural Disasters
by Greg Balondo
Approximately 45,000 people globally die from natural disasters each year. This represents around 0.1% of global deaths. Indeed, natural disasters are one of the most significant risks to human life and property. In recent years, the frequency of these events has increased due to climate change and growing urbanization. Natural disasters cause extensive damage to buildings, infrastructure, agriculture, and ecosystems. As such, there is a need for improved disaster resilience among communities and businesses to minimize their impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.
Access to well-designed infrastructure by the world’s best architects, engineers, and placemakers becomes necessary to combat the effects of climate change and natural disasters. Online marketplaces can provide the solution to make design available to vulnerable communities worldwide.
In a design marketplace, architects can post their design solutions for sale by uploading the 3D version of their works on the website. Clients can directly buy these designs from their storefronts, and builders can then generate construction drawings based on these digital assets.
Blockchains and smart contracts add a layer of ownership to these designs so that clients don’t have to print documents or certificates of ownership, making the process sustainable. They can even sell the assets back to the marketplace if they change their minds. Architects and designers will earn royalty payments every time their works are sold.
As we look ahead, it is clear that the need for better disaster resilience will continue to grow. We have learned that there are many ways in which design can play an essential role in providing resilient infrastructure, and these design marketplaces will only become more vital as they develop over time. Providing various architectural and engineering solutions to our people through a design marketplace will simplify our tasks in mitigating the effects of natural disasters. Making expert infrastructure advice available from various disciplines and providing access to their technologies should become a standard protocol for providing comfortable living for everyone.
