A visceral memorial to the nearly 100,000 victims of China’s 2008 earthquake, this weathered-steel monument and museum conjures images of cracked Earth left in the wake of a quake.

The Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum was conceived of as an architectural landscape and situated in Wenchuan County, the epicenter of the earthquake in the Sichuan Province.

Green roofs look unassuming in the landscape while rusted steal provides a ground-hued contrast in the cracks winding their way through the ruptured site. The effect is powerful, giving visitors the sense that they are walking in the actual voids left by the disaster.

The quake was responsible for an estimated 70,000 deaths and left tens of thousands missing. The museum complex was created by the faculty of Tonji University at the request of the Chinese government.

The sheer magnitude of such an event is impossible to capture in physical form, but this design aims to at least give a sense of the devastation and places for remembrance and quiet contemplation.

The creators of the world’s first working hoverboard have turned their sights toward larger-scale projects, patenting a three-part hovering foundation system to defend houses in earthquake- and flood-prone areas facing threats from natural disasters. The basic idea: decouple buildings from the ground temporarily, isolating them from unwanted movement happening below and around them.

Arx Pax, based in Silicon Valley and the creators of the Hendo Hoverboard using Magnetic Field Architecture (MFA), designed this new approach to floating homes during emergencies, using a buffer medium over a construction platform. Their physical technologies will be connected to ShakeAlert, an automatic warning software developed in part by the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. Geological Survey.

“The ShakeAlert program aligns well with our long-term vision,” said Greg Henderson, co-founder and CEO at Arx Pax. “Weaving ShakeAlert into our MFA seismic isolation solution provides a valuable new tool to architects, engineers, and developers who are looking for a better way to build in areas affected by earthquakes. Our goal is to eliminate structural movement by pinpointing the exact time an object or building’s ‘landing gear’ should retract and activate the hover engines.”

Currently, many large buildings already have countermeasures to protect them from strong winds or earthquake forces, but few small structures can afford similar protections. Arx Pax hopes to make similar approaches cost-effective for individual houses and lower buildings in general, raising them up in the face of floodwaters or shaking ground.

In addition to helping homeowners, Arx Pax sees applications for this technology for places including surgical operating rooms where stability is essential or laboratories, server farms and other spaces with sensitively calibrated equipment.

Bringing together cutting-edge technologies and an ancient approach to resisting earthquake damage, the so-called Quake Column marries tradition and high-tech to create a bold new structural solution needing no mortar nor rebar to reinforce it.

Incan masons historically interlocked complex three-dimensional stone shapes in order to allow movement during earthquakes while preventing buildings from becoming structurally compromised in the process. The puzzle-like interlinking of the constituent parts helps structures resist seismic shocks, keeping them from becoming detached either horizontally or vertically.

A modern-day company in California, Emerging Objects, has taken this page out of history and reapplied it with 3D printing, allowing their new variants of these old blocks to be fabricated quickly, easily and cost-effectively. Unlike their heavy stone predecessors, these new versions are can be lightweight, modular and made on demand, including built-in handles for carrying printed-on instructions showing builders how to assemble them into columns.

These contemporary equivalents are designed to be load-bearing, code-compliant materials that could be used in actual architectural applications of all kinds, all without steel reinforcement or mortar cementing the connections. More on the structural physics at work via Inhabitat: “the absence of resonant frequencies and stress concentration points made the structures more earthquake resistant. During earthquakes, the dry-stone walls built by the Incas would move slightly and resettle without any damage. Rounded corners and an incline of three to five degrees contributed to their stability.”

In 2011, Christchurch, New Zealand was hit with a massive 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Among the city’s most heartbreaking losses was the destruction of the iconic 1864 Anglican cathedral. The city plans to have a new cathedral built, but designing and erecting a large building doesn’t just happen overnight. Shigeru Ban Architects, masters of cardboard constructions, came to the rescue with a temporary solution.

The Cardboard Cathedral is built to last up to 50 years, which should be more than enough time to get a permanent structure in place. The temporary building is made from 98 cardboard tubes and eight shipping containers, with the tubes forming the dramatic ultra-high peaked ceiling. Rather than constructing a simple emergency building to house the congregation, the architect did something extraordinary and created a temporary cathedral that actually looks like a place of worship.

Shigeru Ban wants to make it clear that, although paper is traditionally a rather weak material, this structure is one of the most earthquake-proof in Christchurch. A concrete building is easily crumbled by an earthquake, but the paper building is far less rigid. This means that it can absorb the shock of a quake without falling apart.

The cardboard tubes are coated with waterproof polyurethane and a flame retardant, so they won’t succumb to the elements. Outside of the cardboard tube ceiling, a semi-transparent polycarbonate roof adds further protection for the building and its occupants. The cathedral can hold up to 700 people, and not just for religious services; it can also be used as an event venue or concert hall.

One of the most touching parts of this project is the etched stained glass window at the entrance. The colorful glass triangles show pictures from the destroyed church’s facade, ensuring that part of that beloved landmark lives on.

(images via: Shigeru Ban and Jocelyn Kinghorn)

A giant purple bubble will rise from a pile of plastic to bring music, workshops and performance to Japan’s northeastern coast, which was devastated by an earthquake and subsequent tsunami in 2011. A collaboration between British sculptor Anish Kapoor and Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, the Ark Nova is the world’s first inflatable concert hall, and will tour the country for the Lucerne Festival Arknova 2013.

Once fully inflated, the coated polyester structure measures nearly 60 feet in height and 115 feet in width. Its first stop is at a park in the town of Matsushima, which suffered serious damage to its many important cultural properties and artistic monuments, and lost thousands of residents.

Wood from cedar trees that were damaged by the floods was used to create seating for 500 guests. The structure can easily be deflated, and will travel around the region to host events that organizers hope will help rebuild local culture and spirit.

In addition to a range of modern concerts and performances, traditional Japanese culture such as kabuki theater will be celebrated. Children in the affected regions will also perform traditional arts and performances themed on the earthquake disaster.