What are you supposed to do when an earthquake hits?
If you answered “Go stand in a doorway,” you get a gold star… although “Get under a table” would also be correct. Doorways are structurally stronger than most other parts of a building, and are often the last thing left standing when a structure has been destroyed by an earthquake. A narrow doorway offers little, however, in the way of protection from falling debris. That’s why an MA Design student from England’s Kingston University has invented a special kind of door.
With news of the catastrophic Haiti earthquake as her motivation, Kingston’s Younghwa Lee wanted to design something that would allow more people to survive future earthquakes. What she came up with is a door that can pivot horizontally within its frame, so people can take shelter underneath it.