OIMB Institute Photo, Cape Arago
ARCH 484 _ 584 RAPID SHELTER DISPLACED PEOPLE DESIGN STUDIO SPRING 2019
D R A F T I N P R O G R E S S
INTRODUCTION
The task of housing forcibly displaced people is highly situational, depending upon the community that is served, the host-community where they may be relocated, and the health, diversity, social and political conditions that led to their present circumstances in additional to the site conditions. Each student will develop a thesis argument with respect determining a building and site planning program in response to an individually chosen forcibly displaced people narrative from available sources such as those posted in the Bibliography.
The standard for best practice is a moving target as the UNHCR continues to reflect upon and review it’s camp planning handbooks and shelter guidelines, and as the number of forcibly displaced people in the world increases well beyond historical levels. Specific case by case background conditions (e.g., demographics, site, etc.) also seem to impose increasingly complex requirements in a globally more interconnected world.
The studio will take on the case study of a UNHCR defined scale of a “Community” of sixteen family shelters for 80 residents through the design of three stages of accommodation:
1) improvisational shelter,
2) transitional shelter and support structures
3) semi-permanent or long term residence and support facilities.
The design of individual residences will also examine parallel strategies in environmentally responsible site planning. A “Community” located at Cape Arago State Park or Sunset Bay State Park on the Oregon coast will serve as a hypothetical site.
The studio will conclude with highly detailed designs of structures and specifications of materials, and more abstract design reflections of the larger UNHCR defined scale of a full “Settlement”.
STUDIO SEQUENCE
The studio has three overlapping phases. It begins with more temporary “Improvisational Shelters” made with tension membrane fabric. At the same time we consider scenarios for delivering humanitarian aid in circumstances that range widely. Field observation exercises will focus on understanding the risks and assets with respect to a building’s environmental footprint on specific sites. Coastal ecology experts will provide guidance in towards understanding data driven and direct observable aspects of site conditions. During the middle of the studio calendar, experimentation with structures will become more normalized with inclusion of more readily available non-customized building components. Observations regarding site conditions will be strengthened by an overnight field trip to the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB). The final third of the studio program moves into more detailed development of the residential and support facilities, a modest expansion to the building program, and speculation abstractly on addressing the numbers of forcibly displaced people in larger aggregate UNHCR “Settlements”. A detailed breakdown of the studio sequence is as follows:
PART 1
We examine the narratives of forcibly displaced people and become familiar with the use of fabric structures in wood boat naval architecture traditions and architecture. We also begin with field observation exercises with respect to recognizing habitats, seabird nesting areas, marine life, other plants and animals, animal tracks, wind, sun, slope, aspect, drainage, and make an assessment of areas either risky for or more suitable for building due to their environmental footprint.
The first design exercises focuses on making “improvisational” building structures that retract and unfurl. We then begin with a “Rigid Architecture Machine” than has operable joints and a hard structural framework covered with a stretched fabric skin. We next examine a “Soft Architecture Machine” in which the fabric itself is the structure.
PART 2
At the beginning of part 2, we combine lessons learned from part 1 to make a more general “Architecture Machine”, a hybrid derived from experimentation with the earlier two types. This phase is still less concerned with accounting for all the parts of complete building systems. As experimentation with structures leads to better insight into the potential spaces and type forms possible, the investigation will gradually take on more fully featured “Transitional Shelters”. The “Transitional Shelters” require a greater specification of building materials, joints, and hardware, and development of foundation systems. They will take into account passive solar design principles. Small scale models and experiments with heat gain and loss will be developed as a way to test potential building performance relative to the specific conditions of a site.
During Part 2, the studio will travel to the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) for an overnight stay, visit two Oregon State Parks that will serve as hypothetical sites for housing a hypothetical forcibly displaced community. The visit will also include a guided tour by land and by a research sea vessel to gain a better understanding of the distinct features of the coastline marine biology and ecology and its vulnerability to human activity.
PART 3
As experimentation with structures leads to better insight into the potential spaces and type forms possible, the investigation will more completely identify building materials, joints, and hardware, foundation systems, and a specific implementation of passive solar design principles. Part 3 takes on the design of “Semi-Permanent Shelters” or longer term building types with an indefinite life span. The structures will be more fully detailed to the point of determining their specific construction.
Parallel to designing the “Semi-Permanent Shelters, the studio will refine site layout schemes to address water use, drainage, sanitation, gardens and other plantings. The site layout will also identify social, religious, health, recreational, and community type spaces and built structures. It will further take into account more general outdoor space usage, pedestrian circulation and vehicle access, wind direction and speed, passive solar orientation and other local environmental factors.
PART 4
Towards the conclusion of the design program, the studio will take on the challenge of better integrating support structures for the UNHCR “Community” and prepare more highly detailed models and drawings with more complete plans, sections, and detailed illustrations. There will be emphasis on quick site assembly as appropriate to rapidly deployed structure.
In addition, the completion of the studio will propose how residential family structures are aggregated, their distinct relationships to semi-private to semi-public common outdoor spaces as well as additional support structures and services. More reflectively, students will be asked to speculate about the unique nature of a design program for forcibly displaced people. This perspective should include consideration of the role of forcibly displaced people in having agency in building their own surroundings, the healing power such a role may bring, as well as the health benefits of exposure to nature in a state park oceanfront setting.
SCHEDULE
This is a flexible draft of the studio schedule that will be revisited during spring 2019 quarter. It’s predictive of what the dates and topics will be, but is open to modification as the studio progresses and as new discoveries or the progress of the studio indicates what pathway would be most productive.
| Part 1 | APRIL 1 – 7 | Improvisational Shelters, Part I |
| Research on Fabric Structures, Sails, Wood Boat Fabrication Methods, State Parks Experimentation with Improvisational Fabric Structures Review UNHCR Standards and Critiques, Displaced People Narratives Visit to Sailmaker and Tension Membrane Fabricator |
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| APRIL 8 – 14 | Improvisational Shelters, Part II | |
| Sewing Workshops and Fabrication Methods Site Analysis Methods. Tensioning Methods and Shapes HOPES Conference Site Study and Community Layout Workshop (optional, 4/11) |
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| Part 2 | APRIL 15 – 21 | Transitional Shelters & Site, Part I |
| Rigid Architecture Machine: Fabric as Skin Joints and Folding Methods Schematic Site Layou Including Walkways ,Dining and Health Structures |
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| APRIL 22 – 28 | Transitional Shelters & Site, Part II | |
| Soft Architecture Machine: Fabric As Structure Field Trip, OIMB, Cape Arago State Park, Sunset Bay State Park. 4/27 – 4/28. Site Surveying, Field Sketching, Environmental Analysis Incorporate Service Spaces and Structures (e.g.,Health, Religion, Recreation, School, Commerce). |
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| Part 3 | APRIL 29 – May 5 | Semi-Permanent Shelters, Part I |
| Architecture Machine: Emphasis on Joints and Degrees of Freedom Site Section and Analytical Drawings Detailed Site Plan and Systems, Including Preliminary Gardens, Plantings, Drainage and Shading Introduce Passive Solar Design and Shading Features |
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| MAY 6 – 12 | Mid-Review (Tentative Date) | |
| Date TBA: 5/6 or 5/8 or the following week. | ||
| MAY 13 – 19 | Semi-Permanent Shelters, Part II | |
| Building Materials, Joints, and Hardware, Foundation systems Detailed Models, Drawings, and Simulation, with Component (1/4 to Full Scale at Discretion) Passive Solar Design Development and Performance Simulation Detail Site Plan for Water use, Drainage, Sanitation,and Gardems and Plantings |
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| Part 4 | MAY 20 – 26 | Detailed UNHCR “Community” Plan, Part I |
| Ongoing Revisions to Semi-Permanent Shelters and Details Pre-Final Layout of Grouped Structuress, Common spaces and Adjacent Support Structures |
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| MAY 27 – JUNE 2 | Detailed UNHCR “Community” Plan, Part II | |
| Continuing Revisions to Semi-Permanent Shelters and Details Final Layout of Grouped Structuress, Common spaces and Adjacent Support Structures Reflections On Lessons Learned with Abtract Diagramatic Implications for Larger Settlements Development of Final Drawings, Models, and Building Component at Optionally 1/4 to Full Scale. |
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| JUNE 3 – 10 | Preview – Final Preparation | |
| Charette | ||
| TBA | Final Review | |