Blue Temple’s bamboo housing survives Mandalay earthquake
In the heart of Mandalay, Myanmar, a cluster of 26 bamboo houses designed by Yangon-based studio Blue Temple has become an unexpected emblem of resilience. When a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar in March 2025, leveling much of the region, the lightweight Housing NOW units, built for families displaced by conflict, stood firm. Not a single home collapsed. What began as an experimental effort to provide dignified, low-cost shelter in one of the world’s most fragile contexts has now proven itself as a field-tested, earthquake-resistant housing system.
all images by Aung Htay Hlaing and Raphaël Ascoli
Housing NOW’s units are built alongside their tenants
Each modular home by Blue Temple can be assembled in under a week using a bundled small-diameter bamboo system. The technique transforms an overlooked, abundantly available material into a structurally interlocking frame that absorbs seismic shocks. Families participate in the assembly alongside the technical team of the Yangon-based practice, learning construction techniques that strengthen community resilience while reducing dependency on external aid.
The earthquake became the ultimate proof of concept for Housing NOW, a socially driven construction project that has been developing quietly since 2019 across conflict-affected regions of Myanmar. In total, 79 units have been built to date, with 500 printed DIY Bamboo Manuals distributed nationwide to empower communities to construct safe homes with local tools and materials. The initiative also experiments with cash-for-shelter upgrades, providing technical advice to improve existing self-built homes.
the resistant cluster of 26 bamboo houses designed by studio Blue Temple
the lightweight Housing NOW units are built from bamboo
families participate in the assembly alongside Blue Temple’s technical team
the housing units are built for families displaced by conflict
when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar, the units stood firm