ABSTRACT
Eric Cesal is a designer, builder, analyst and writer. A native of Washington, DC, Eric completed his undergraduate studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and has three degrees from Washington University in St Louis: a Masters in Architecture, a Masters in Construction Management and a Masters in Business Administration. Cesal began a career in humanitarian architecture as a volunteer on Katrina reconstruction, working on a community design programme in Biloxi and New Orleans. Cesal is currently the Director of the Disaster Reconstruction and Resiliency Studio at Architecture for Humanity, where he manages Architecture for Humanity's global portfolio for disaster response. The interviews and supporting essays show built environment professionals collaborating with post-disaster communities as facilitators, collaborators and negotiators of land, space and shelter, rather than as 'save the world' modernists, as often portrayed in design media. The goal is social and physical reconstruction, as a collaborative process involving a damaged community and its local culture, environment and economy.
