Housing NOW Myanmar demonstrates how modular bamboo architecture provides safe, rapid, and dignified homes for displaced families
In March 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar (Burma), leaving Mandalay in ruins. Only 15 km from the epicenter, 26 bamboo houses built by Housing NOW Myanmar for already displaced families remained intact. Each unit withstood the quake without damage, demonstrating the resilience of the system designed by the architecture and design studio Blue Temple.
Low-cost modular bamboo
Each home designed with the Housing NOW Myanmar system can be built in under a week for the price of a smartphone. The secret lies in the innovative use of small-diameter bamboo, transformed into self-supporting structures that interlock geometrically. Families actively participate in the assembly, guided by Blue Temple’s technical team. The system distributes seismic loads and allows flexibility in layout and façades.
Three strategies to tackle the crisis
Housing NOW Myanmar does not rely on a single model. Over the past five years, the program has developed three parallel strategies:
- Modular prefab: rapid, low-cost housing, successfully tested against earthquakes and strong winds.
- DIY Bamboo Manual: 500 copies distributed to help communities build independently.
- Optimized cash-for-shelter: technical support to upgrade self-built homes.
Together, these strategies form a toolkit adaptable to different contexts and levels of community participation.
The project, born from technical innovation and construction in extreme contexts with strong social engagement, has received international recognition, including MIT Solve, Good Energies Prize, UNICEF Innovation30, and Nikkei Asia Award.
Photo Aung Htay Hlaing and Raphaël Ascoli
