ABSTRACT
This chapter considers how an interdisciplinary group of students utilised the Participatory Rapid Appraisal (PRA) approach to broaden their own skills and expertise as well as redefine the role of the architect in response to communitie's recovery from the Asian tsunami of 2004. Nagapattinam was the worst affected region in India, accounting for 76 per cent of deaths in Tamil Nadu. The Live Project formed the basis of the design studio, with students producing individual projects based upon solutions addressing the findings in the report. The Live Project indicated that, while aid can be mainly resource driven and focused on the physical, the PRA tools used allowed all practitioners to investigate the social aspects and soft assets of a community, gaining a deeper understanding of its priorities and needs. The Indian Live Project certainly 'opened the eyes' of the architecture students and allowed them to realise alternative roles for the architect as an enabler and a facilitator who empowers others.
