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Final Thesis Book
Citation preview
This thesis is dedicated to my family and friends for standing beside me through my five years in SCAD giving me support and encouragement. I would like to say thanks to my the-sis committee: Judith Reno, Jean Jaminet, and Sheila Edwards for all their support, in put and critique. Also special thanks to Scott Dietz and Michael Pearce for your resources.
Without the support of everybody I would have not been able to make my vision a reality.
CONTENTSThesis Abstract 02
Natural Disasters 05
Current Disaster Recovery 21
Digital Fabrication 49
Standards for a Shelter 73
Site Analysis 91
Program Development 135
Modular Architecture 145
Schematic Design 157
Design Development 185
Thesis Conclusion 239
1
2
3
Everybody wants the same thing, rich or poor...not only a warm, dry room, but a shelter for the soul.
Samuel Mockbee, architect
4
Everybody wants the same thing, rich or poor...not only a warm, dry room, but a shelter for the soul.
Samuel Mockbee, architect
5
6
7
INTRODUCTIONUnited States sustains about ten major natural
disasters every year.1 Recent events, such as the
destruction caused by hurricane Katrina and the
earthquake in Haiti, raised the stakes for design and
construction professionals to respond intelligently to
disaster relief. The lack of suitable living units for post-
disasters has become to be a striking problem in the
design field. Most government and relief groups from
around the world struggle with providing immediate
and effective shelters to the unfortunate victims.
Many major agencies do not use the knowledge of
architecture for shelter. Yet they assign volunteers
that are not familiar with disaster relief housing needs
which effectively condemn the victims to years of
inadequate housing.
In September 2012 Federal Emergency Management
Agency was fine $42.6 million dollars for distributing
toxic trailers to the victims of hurricanes Katrina and
Rita, by the court, who claimed that they were exposed
to hazardous fumes while living in them. The court
found high levels of formaldehyde in the trailers
provided by FEMA. Formaldehyde, a chemical
commonly found in building materials, cause
breathing problems and is classified as a carcinogen.
Government tests on hundreds of trailers in Louisiana
and Mississippi found formaldehyde levels that were,
on average, about five times what people are exposed
to in most modern homes. Roughly 55,000 victims
will be eligible for shares of $37.5 million paid by more
than two dozen manufacturers.2
With that in mind, this thesis will develop a novel
design and fabrication process for mass customized
post-hurricane disaster shelter modules. The process
will involve generative computational methods and
fabrication techniques with the study of materiality.
The challenges in the way of finding a suitable shelter
are manifold. The shelter should be efficient to deploy,
easy to installed, able to withstand extreme weather
conditions, lightweight enough to be carried to the
disaster-affected zones. Shelters must preserve the
dignity along with provisions for health and safety of
the victims who have suffered many losses.
Natural Disasters
8Image 1.01Image 1.01
99 Natural Disasters9Image 1.02
10
This map shows the tracks of all known North Atlantic
major hurricanes from 1851 to 2008. Majority of
hurricane activity in the world happens in the Atlantic
Ocean. A major hurricane is a tropical cyclone of
Category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane
Scale and has maximum sustained surface winds of
at least 111 miles per hour.3
1111 Natural Disasters
...the aftermath11
Image 1.03
1212
Flooding in New Orleans, Louisiana,after Hurricane Katrina
Worldwide, the total number of natural disasters reported each year has been rising steadily in recent decades, from4
78348
in 1970toin 2004
13 Natural Disasters
Image 1.04 Image 1.05
Image 1.06 Image 1.07
Image 1.08 Image 1.09
14
POST HURRICANEA natural disaster, such as a hurricane, not only leaves
a trail of property destruction in its wake, but many
times leaves thousands of its victims with a destroyed
sense of balance.5 Victims are left homeless due to
the flash floods and strong winds. Communities are
erased as their neighbourhoods are washed away. As
a result, so many people are force to live in inadequate
housing that range from a simple tent to FEMA trailers.
Some of this storms can be so devastating that it can
take years for a city to recover.
However, inadequate housing is not the only problem
they have to worry about. With the streets flooded for
weeks it can bring a whole different kinds of issues
from sanitation to diseases. It also makes it difficult
for organizations to aid the victims, especially when it
comes to medical help.
In more recent events, Hurricane Sandy was all over
the news during the last couple of months of 2012.
Long before hitting New York and New Jersey, it tore
through the Caribbean leaving destruction behind
Cuba and Haiti. To this day, people in Haiti are still
waiting for help. With a poverty levels so high, many
if its people were left homeless once again. Guy
Mathieu, owner of a local radio station in Haiti, quoted
after Hurricane Sandy stroke the island, “there is no
separation between the living and the dead.”6
So many if the victims having been thrown into
schools and shelters were adults and children sleep
on the same ground. Many of these places do not
receive any assistance and a lot of its people are still
recovering from the 2012 earthquake.
1515 Natural Disasters15
Haitians are living in tents and tarps camps after the 2010 earthquake.7 1.5 million
1616
Haitians are living in tents and tarps camps after the 2010 earthquake.7
Image 1.10
1717 Natural Disasters17
Of the world’s refugees
49%47%
are femaleandare children[under 18]8
The average duration of major refugee situations has increased
9 years17 years
From
To
[1993]
[2003]9
On any given night i the United States, at least
700,000people are without shelter 10
1818
Stranded victims of Katrina restinside the Superdome
Image 1.11
19
FOOTNOTES“The Changing Role of Architects in Disaster
Response.” The American Institute of Architects.
The American Institute of Architects, n.d. Web.
09 Sept. 2012. <http://www.aia.org/about/
initiatives/AIAS075272>.
AP. “Katrina, Rita Victims Get $42.6M in Toxic
FEMA Trailer Suit.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive,
27 Sept. 2012. Web. 07 Oct. 2012. <http://www.
cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57521757/>.
“Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.” Saffir-
Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. NOAA/ National
Weather Service, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2013. <
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php>.
The International Disaster Database <http://
www.emdat.be/
Caito, Rebecca. “Dealing With the Aftermath of
a Hurricane.” Dealing With the Aftermath of a
Hurricane. Rhode Island Sea Grant, Apr. 1992.
Web. 14 Jan. 2013. <http://seagrant.gso.uri.
edu/factsheets/aftermath_hurricane.html>
”Victims of Hurricane Sandy Forgotten in Haiti
| Bangkok Post: News.” Victims of Hurricane
Sandy Forgotten in Haiti | Bangkok Post: News.
Bangkok Post, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Jan.
2013. < http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/
world/322333/victims-of-hurricane-..>
“Haiti Unprepared For Hurricane Season |
MyAyiti.Com.” Haiti Unprepared For Hurricane
Season | MyAyiti.Com. MYAYITI.COM, 1 June
2010. Web. 15 Jan. 2013. < http://myayiti.
com/2010/06/haiti-unprepared-for-hurricane-
season/>
“Protracted Refugee Situations,” UNHCR, June
2004.
“Protracted Refugee Situations,” UNHCR, June
2004.
Marielena Zuniga, “No Home of Her Own:
Homeless Women,” Soroptimist of Americas,
Jan. 2003.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
20
IMAGE NOTES1.01
1.02
1.03
1.04
1.05
1.06
1.07
1.08
1.09
1.10
http://www.nytimes.com/
interactive/2011/05/01/
weekinreview/01safe.html
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/
http://cheaperthandirt.com/
blog/?tag=disasters
http://photos.syracuse.com/post-
standard/2012/10/brian_hajeski_1.html
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/
photo/2jArk9LM1fDRqI383yR6mg
http://my.opera.com/greendanang/albums/
showpic.dml?album=5531842&pictu
re=83389782
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15739028@
N03/4992371254/
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/category/world/
haiti/
http://www.gettao.com/bbs/ viewthread.
php?action=
printable&tid=29202
http://kylechowning.com/the-homeless-in-
haiti-need-you/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15739028@
N03/4992369860/1.11
21
22
2323 Current Disaster Recovery23
FEMA
2424FEMA recovery center in Miami, FL
FEMA
Image 2.01
25
FEMA RECOVERY CONTINUUMThe recovery process is best described as a sequence
of interdependent and often concurrent activities
that progressively advance a community toward
a successful recovery. However, decisions made
and priorities set early in the recovery process by
a community will have a cascading effect on the
nature and speed of the recovery progress. 11 The
image below indicates how FEMA does response and
recovery functions related in example sectors.
Current Disaster Recovery
Image 2.02
26
- Individual and Family Empowerment.
- Leadership and Local Primacy
- Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning
- Partnerships and Inclusiveness
- Public Information
- Unity of Effort
- Timeliness and Flexibility
- Resilience and Sustainability
- Psychological and Emotional
- Recovery12
RECOVERY CORE PRINCIPLES
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIESPartnerships at every level are supported by State and
Federal authorities and encouraged through two-way
communication.13
Successful recovery depends on all recovery
stakeholders having a clear understanding of pre- and
post-disaster roles and responsibilities. In keeping
with the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF)
principles, clearly defined roles and responsibilities
are a foundation for unity of effort among all recovery
partners to jointly identify opportunities, foster
partnerships and optimize resources.14
Image 2.03
27 Current Disaster Recovery
HOUSINGCoordinating Agency: HUD
Primary Agencies: DHS/FEMA, DOJ, HUD, USDA
Supporting Organizations: CNCS, DOC, DOE, EPA,
HHS, SBA, U.S. Access Board, VA, ARC, NVOAD
Address pre- and post-disaster housing issues and
coordinate and facilitate the delivery of Federal
resources and activities to assist local, State and Tribal
governments in the rehabilitation and reconstruction
of destroyed and damaged housing, whenever
feasible, and development of other new accessible,
permanent housing options.15
The function for housing is the ability to implement
housing solutions that effectively support the
needs of the whole community and contribute to its
sustainability and resilience. Housing is a critical and
often challenging component in disaster recovery. It is
critical because local economies cannot recover from
devastating disasters without adequate housing,
especially affordable housing. It is challenging because
many years’ worth of housing repair, rehabilitation,
reconstruction and new construction often need to
occur at an accelerated pace after a disaster.16
MISSION
FUNCTION
The Housing Recovery Support Function works toward
addressing disaster housing issues pre-disaster,
focusing on solutions that are implementable,
sustainable and resilient. As States and communities
look to the Federal Government for assistance in
housing both disaster survivors and others who
choose to live in recovering communities, the Housing
RSF coordinates and effectively integrates available
housing-related resources, addresses conflicting
policy and program issues.17
Consistent with the National Disaster Housing Strategy
(NDHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
maintains lead responsibility for sheltering and interim
housing with interim housing support from Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) as well as other primary
agencies and support organizations. Sheltering falls
under ESF #6 in the National Response Framework
(NRF) where DHS/FEMA is the coordinating agency.18
2828FEMA trailers after hurricane Katrina
Image 2.04
2929 Sandy victims in New YorkCurrent Disaster Recovery29
Image 2.05
30
FEMA FAILURE Sandy Aftermath: FEMA Trailers Sitting Unused, Despite Thousands Still Powerless In New York -ABC News
FEMA trailers have not been delivered to those in
New York hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy, despite a
substantial number of the mobile homes sitting in
Maryland.
New York City has actually chosen to forego emergency
assistance in the form of FEMA trailers. This despite
the fact that, more than a month after the superstorm
devastated large swaths of the New York metropolitan
area, thousands of families are still coping with the
devastation, and could face substantial health risks
living in damaged homes. Eyewitness News found
them in Cumberland Maryland at a FEMA Temporary
Housing storage site about 300 miles from New York
City.19 Hundred upon hundreds of trailors have been
sitting there six weeks after Sandy hit New York.
Instead of trailers, Mayor Bloomberg is relying on his
program called Rapid Repairs to get people back into
their homes quickly.20
Five weeks after Rapid Repairs was launched, 1,200
homes have been fixed. That’s leaves 11,000 families
still waiting, without heat or electricity.21 The winter
is getting colder but atleast New York is stating to
shleter their own people.
FEMA says that the trailers would not work there. “We
don’t have the open space and the open space we
have is back in flooded areas and we don’t want to
compound the problem of putting peoples in harm’s
way by putting units in where they don’t belong,” said
Michael Byrne, of FEMA.22 In other words the FEMA
trailors are useless for Sandy victims,
Congressman Frank Pallone pressure FEMA to finally
get a few dozen trailers to New Jersey. “It’s getting
cold, you can’t expect people to rely on neighbours,
relatives, hotels forever, they need this housing,”
Congressman Pallone said.23
3131 Current Disaster Recovery31
RED CROSS SOCIETY
3232
RED CROSS SOCIETY
Red Cross Society respond after Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011
Image 2.06
33
MISSIONThe American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization
led by volunteers and guided by its Congressional
Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,
will provide relief to those affected by disaster and
help people prevent, prepare for and respond to
emergencies.24
While the Red Cross network of chapters is responding
to emergencies in every state, every day, the states
shaded in this map illustrate where the Red Cross
provided large-scale relief from July 1, 2010 to June
30, 2011.25
With more than 130 years of emergency relief
experience, the Red Cross and its volunteers are
experts in the field of disaster response. In the wake
of domestic disasters, the Red Cross is prepared to:
- Open shelters and serve meals
- Distribute recovery supplies such as cleanup
and comfort kits
- Work with those affected to develop longterm
plans for recovery and identify available
resources
- Provide physical and mental health care
through our team of more than 3,800
licensed medical professionals and more
than 3,200 mental health professionals26
Current Disaster Recovery
Image 2.07
34Image 2.08
3535 Current Disaster Recovery35Hurricane Katrina relief shelter
in Astrodome, HoustonImage 2.09
36
NATIONAL SHELTER SYSTEMThe Red Cross National Shelter System (NSS)
contains information for over 56,000 potential shelter
facilities and is used to track and report shelter
information during disasters. This powerful tool
enables emergency managers and disaster workers
to identify the location, managing agency, capacity,
current population, and other relevant information of
all shelters operated in response to disasters.27
NSS information assists the Red Cross, FEMA,
state and local emergency management, and non-
government organizations in developing strategies to
ensure prompt and effective mass care services. The
system also serves as a planning tool before disaster
strikes.28 They include:
- Self-sufficiency for power
- Emergency generator on-site
- Utilities
-Kitchen/preparation capacity
-Seating for food service
- Can support day-to-day shelter management
in response to any size disaster
- Can aid in decision making, request for a
declaration, and recovery processes
- support matching available shelter
resources with needs of affected area
- access, organize, and report data as
disaster situations evolve29
NSS VALUES
37
RED CROSS SOCIETY FAILURE Where did the money go in Haiti? -WGBH News
It turns out that almost none of the money that the
general public believed was going to Haiti actually
went directly to the country. Of the $468 million the
Red Cross has collected for Haiti relief efforts, it has
spent $148 million. Most of the money that was
spent went to outside governments, international
aid agencies, and well-connected non-governmental
organizations.
Two years after the earthquake and most people
in Haiti are still living in temporary housing built by
the Red Cross and other organizations. “You should
see what they’re building. It’s like little boxes and
they’re calling them houses.”30 Seven months after
the earthquake struck the island, the Red Cross has
spent only one-third of the half a billion dollars it
collected in aid. Majority of the money has not been
seen by any of the victims.
TransAfrica is one of several organizations monitoring
how money is being spent in Haiti in the aftermath of
the earthquake. “One of the goals that was set in the
first year… was to build 125,000 transitional shelters.
Now we’re at the two-year mark and there still aren’t
even 100,000 shelters.”31 That means more than
half a million people are living under tarps and tents.
Today, housing remains the most intractable problem.
“There’s a lot of open land that can be used for new
housing programs but there hasn’t been a bold action”
to use it for low-cost housing. 32
Where does the money go? Some has gone to good
purposes, such as cholera treatment pills for the
water supply and tarps. However, “there has been
little accountability and also little participation of the
actual eventual beneficiaries, and therefore there has
been a lot of waste.”33
Current Disaster Recovery
3838Image 2.10
3939
HABITATFOR
HUMANITY
Habitat for Humanity volunteers rebuildhomes after series of tornadoes struckAlabama April 27, 2011.
Current Disaster Recovery39Image 2.11
4040
HABITATFOR
HUMANITY
41
MISSIONTo develop innovative housing and shelter assistance
models that generate sustainable interventions
for people vulnerable to or affected by disasters or
conflicts. In addition, Disaster Response builds the
capacity of the global Habitat community in the areas
of disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery
through education, training and partnerships.34
Disaster strikes in an instant, but shelter and housing
needs remain. 35
Habitat’s Disaster Response focuses on the
housing needs that arise from natural disasters and
humanitarian emergency conflicts. We meet the
challenge of disasters and conflicts worldwide using a
number of integrated approaches that revolve around
our core competencies of sustainable shelter and
housing solutions.36
Disaster recovery introduces new and urgent issues
on the long-term problems of inadequate housing.
This poses a special challenge to shelter recovery
efforts, since long-term issues — tenure insecurity,
SHELTER
poor basic services and lack of effective building
regulation — do not disappear. Adequate housing
should be at the center of urban disaster-recovery
efforts, not only because the need is great, but also
because it facilitates other elements of recovery.39
Safe shelter is known to have a positive impact on
human health.
Disaster response needs focus on the entire
neighbourhood. Solutions must be designed to reflect
the diversity of neighbourhoods and not provide one
standard assistance mechanism across the entire
city.
Finally, post-disaster housing solutions should be
designed to reduce the risk of future hazards. There
is no point in rebuilding in a flood plain, or on an
unstable slope, or with the same technique that made
houses vulnerable in the first place.39
The agency usually gathers a group of volunteers to
help build wood structure houses for the victims. The
duration of the construction can vary depending on
the number of volunteers and access of materials and
tools.
Current Disaster Recovery
4242Image 2.12
4343 Current Disaster Recovery43Image 2.13
44
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FAILURE Volunteer Group Lags in Replacing Gulf Houses -The New York Times
Couple of days just days after Hurricane Katrina,
Habitat for Humanity chief executive appeared on
CNN, promising to build and repair as many homes
as it could pay for, “hopefully in the thousands.” The
organization quickly mustered 50,000 volunteers,
raised $127 million, and attracted prominent backers
like President Bush and the New Orleans jazz
luminaries Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis.40
But almost 18 months after storms destroyed more
than 250,000 homes, Habitat for Humanity says it
has built just 10 houses for poor hurricane victims
here, 36 in New Orleans, and a total of 416 along the
entire coast, from Alabama to Texas. More are under
construction, for a total of 702.41
There is criticism with Habitat’s decision making
structure and its unwillingness to change its methods
of operations to suit the massive needs in the
hurricane reconstruction zone:
- Habitat works only through local affiliates,
slowing decision making and complicating
fund raising
- Only builds new homes
- Habitat requires cash payments, good credit
and sweat equity by the prospective home
buyer
- Habitat volunteers aren’t all that efficient
at home building. Habitat is more about
providing volunteers with a heartwarming
experience.
Habitat, with more than $1 billion in annual revenues,
is based in Atlanta and Americus, Ga., and has
operations worldwide. Its mission often seems as
much about providing spiritual fulfillment to its
volunteers as it is about improving new homeowners’
lives.42
Habitat for Humanity illustrates both the strength
and the weakness of an organization with a strong
commitment to a particular mission and model. The
commitment to a model emphasizing local control,
volunteerism, and helping people who can help
themselves has been instrumental in creating a
strong national brand. But this model falls far short
of achieving the mission principle stated in the 2004
annual report:
“that safe and affordable housing is a basic
human right and a fundamental component
of dignity and long-term well-being for every
person on earth.”43
45
FOOTNOTES“National Disaster Recovery Framework | FEMA.
gov.” FEMA.gov. FEMA, n.d. Web. 28 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.fema.gov/national-disaster-
recovery-framework>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Hoffer, Jim. “FEMA Trailers Sitting Uninhabited,
Victims Want Answers.” ABC. WABC-TV/DT,
12 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Jan. 2013. <http://
abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/
investigators&id=8918103>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
“2011 Disaster Relief Program Review.”
American Red Cross. American Red Cross, n.d.
Web. 28 Jan. 2013. <http://www.redcross.
org/what-we-do/disaster-relief/2011-disaster-
relief-program>
Ibid
Ibid
“The National Shelter System.” American Red
Cross. American Red Cross, n.d. Web. 28 Jan.
2013. <https://nss.communityos.org/cms/>
Ibid
Ibid
Martin, Philip. “Where Did The Money Go In
Haiti?” WGBH News. PBD NPR, 12 Jan. 2012.
Web. 29 Jan. 2013. < http://www15.wgbh.org/
articles/index.cfm?tempid=5337>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
“Habitat for Humanity’s Disaster Response.”
Habitat for Humanity Int’l. Habitat for Humanity
Int’l, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013. <http://www.
habitat.org/disaster>
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
46
IMAGE NOTEShttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/
File:FEMA_-_9010_-_Photograph_by_An-
drea_Booher_taken_on_10-31-2003_in_Cal-
ifornia.jpg
FEMA National Disaster Recovery Framework
Guide
Ibid
http://www.fema.gov/photodata/origi-
nal/45300.jpg
http://blog.archny.org/notes/wp-content/
uploads/2012/11/weneedhelp.jpg
http://www.flwestcoastredcross.org/image-
sup/Tampa%20Bay%20Chapter/Images/
Japan.jpg
American Red Cross Disaster Service Pro-
gram Review
http://arcgbw.files.wordpress.
com/2011/12/h21157-37515-2011disinf.
jpg
http://www.bayarea-redcross.org/imagesup/
American%20Red%20Cross%20Bay%20
Area/Gregory%20Smith.JPG
2.01
2.02
2.03
2.04
2.05
2.06
2.07
2.08
2.09
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Strom, Leslie Eaton And Stephanie, and STEPH-
ANIE STROM. “Charity Group Lags in Efforts On
Gulf Homes.” The New York Times. The New
York Times, 22 Feb. 2007. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/
us/22habitat.html>
Ibid
Ibid
“The History of Habitat.” Habitat for Humanity
Int’l. Habitat for Humanity Int’l, n.d. Web. 30
Jan. 2013. <http://www.habitat.org/how/histo-
rytext.aspx>
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
47
IMAGE NOTEShttp://bethelmissionoutreach.org/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/0110haitirecove
ry_update.png
http://www.fema.gov/photodata/origi-
nal/49681.jpg
http://static.move.com/blogs/page-
lyrdcblogs/blogs/wp-content/up-
loads/2012/11/infographic_112112-.jpg
http://www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/view.
image?Id=2090
2.10
2.11
2.12
2.13
48
49
50
51
Digital design and fabrication technologies have given
architects the means to invent new architectural
languages and communicate them directly to
production facilities allowing for the construction of
projects with unforeseen complexity.44 The increasing
proliferation of computers and advanced modeling
software has enabled architects and students alike
to conceive and construct 3-D designs that would be
very difficult to develop using traditional methods.45
The architectural possibilities of developments in
material technology continue to increase, fueled by
digital fabrication methods.
Digital fabrication is a process using digital data to
direct a manufacturing development. While digital
fabrication has been around for decades, only now has
it become possible for designers to take advantage
of this powerful technology. A significant figure in the
field, Lisa Iwamoto describes the shift towards digital
fabrication:
“For many years, as the process of making
drawings steadily shifted from being analog
to digital, the design of buildings did not
really reflect the change. CAD replaced
drawings with a parallel rule and lead
pointer, but buildings looked pretty much
the same. This is perhaps not so surprising
one form of two-dimensional representation
simply replaces another. It took three-
dimensional computer modeling and digital
fabrication to energize design thinking and
expand the boundaries of architectural form
and construction.”46
An early advocate of this approach was Gehry &
Associates, whose adoption and development of
digital fabrication was vital in enabling them to
construct the iconic Disney Concert Hall from 1989-
2003. The critical part of this translation process lay
in the practice’s adaptation of an existing software
program, Computer-Aided Three-dimensional
Interactive Application (CATIA). This program is an
established design-and-development application in
the aerospace industry. The firm used it to model the
building’s envelope and permitted full-size prototype
to be digitally fabricated.
The computer is often used as an active and dynamic
agent that not only enables the representation of
creative ideas but also generates them. One of the
most important features of digital design is in its
capacity to develop complex curvilinear geometries,
a relatively difficult feat when using traditional design
and construction processes.47 This feature has
brought numerous architects to be highly engaged in
the fabrication process to ensure the design intent is
carried through into the production. As a result of this
involvement, designers have inherited greater control
of the construction process since the digital design
data is so closely integrated with digital manufacturing
technologies.
Additionally, a vast array of material exploration
suddenly opens up to the designer using digital
fabrication methods – facilitating creative, efficient,
and highly effective use of architectural materials.48
This will be further explored later on in the book.
INTRODUCTION
Digital Fabrication
5252Image 3.01
53 Digital Fabrication
MASS CUSTOMIZATION The digital age, in which we live, the question is no
longer whether a design is buildable or not, the
question now is what is the best way to engage with
and respond to the potential of digital fabrication.
Possibly the most important development in this
regard is the making of “nonstandard” components
through a process of “mass customization.”49 These
nonstandard components should be modularized and
their function combines into a single subsystem. With
digital fabrication, mass customization has become a
reality and at times a necessity. Mass customization
proposes new processes to build using automated
production, but with the ability to differentiate each
artifact from those that are fabricated before and
after assembly.
Mass production was the ideal of the early twentieth
century. Mass customization is the recently emerged
reality of the twenty-first century. Mass customization
is a hybrid.50 “The ability to differentiate, to distinguish
architecture based upon site, use, and desire,
is a prerequisite to success that has eluded our
predecessors.”51 This idea strongly opposes the
historic notion of mass production which was about the
economy of making things in quantity. This inevitable
design required the architect or client to choose from
predetermined parts. Now that mass customization
is a reality, it can provide mass customized, designed
housing for emergency shelter. A definitive need exist
for a system that is rapidly deployable and mountable
for the affected communities.
5454
A carefully detailed private workspace conceals office equipment behind birch plywood ribs by Synthesis
Design + Architecture
Image 3.02
55 Digital Fabrication Image 3.03
56
CASE STUDY The Instant HouseA great example for this idea is “The Instant House”
project developed by Marcel Botha and Lawrence
D. Sass for MIT’s Department of Architecture. They
studied how digital design and fabrication can be
utilized in an urgent housing environment, specifically
designed as a relief effort for natural disaster areas or
refugee camps. It promoted the use of a system that
is rapidly deployable and mountable, while fostering
individuality within the larger rebuilt community.
The Instant House product ships as an all-
inclusive flat packed structure, ready for immediate
implementation.52 Botha and Sass created a
solution for emergency housing, while still giving
personal ownership to the user, through generative
computational methods and CNC fabrication
techniques. In the past, examples of generative
methods have tended to produce house designs as
spaces and forms only. The Instant House combines
the concept of prefabricated low cost design with those
based on shape and a system for digital fabrication.
The Instant House process produces a customized,
habitable mono-material plywood structure. Various
joint types sustain their assembly through friction
connection for each component of the system,
eliminating the need for nails, screws or glue. The
process is divided into five stages: shape design,
design development, evaluation, fabrication, and
construction.53 The house took two people and three
days to assemble it.
The notion of mass customization is the idea of
“nonstandard” components. Digital fabrication
methods phase encourage the making of one-
off, nonstandard objects and components. In an
architectural context, using nonstandard elements-
whether structurally, external/internal, or otherwise
means that the possibilities of optimizing variance
in relation to ecological and local criteria, alongside
other design intentions and aesthetic decisions, are
myriad.54
57
DIGITAL FABRICATION PrinciplesThe techniques of digital fabrication generally fit
into three main categories: cutting, subtracting, and
addition. Although these techniques are analogous
to traditional processes used in architectural model
making, they ultimately bring more options for model
makers.
The first technique, which is perhaps the most
common and accessible, is cutting. There is a range
of different cutting techniques, but essentially they
all enable the production of flat components using
a cutting head that follows instructions provided by
digital design data.55 These techniques are often
referred to as “two-dimensional fabrication”56 and are
usually limited by the thickness of the material they
can cut.
The laser cutter is a technology that uses a laser to cut
precise patterns in most types of materials such as
metal, plastic, and paper. It also enables designers to
make components with complex shapes and detailed
elements, incorporating apertures and patterns.
Digital Fabrication
Cutting
Many professional model makers use this technology
for high-quality model components such as façades.
A major disadvantage is that most laser cutters are
relatively small, which places a limit on the size of the
components. This process of construction is akin to
traditional methods, except that some designers use
the laser-cutting technology to provide a reference key
on each component as well as small holes, slots, and
notches to aid assembly.57
Barkow Leibingers Architects are at the forefront
in architectural experimentation based on digital
fabrication and mechanical assembly of buildings. For
“The Gatehouse” project in Stuttgart, the designers
used laser digital cutting to fabricate a unique and
freestanding building, in which the application of
this technique is integral to the construction and
not simply surface decoration.58 Working with über-
engineer Werner Sobek, the firm used Triumpt’s own
technology to laser-cut and weld sheet metal for the
roofing system. The gatehouse consists of a small
functional core topped by a honeycombed steel roof
that cantilevers an astonishing 66 feet across the
street in front of it.
58
SubtrationThe second technique is subtraction, which is the
process of taking material from an existing solid
volume. The excess material is typically removed
through milling or routing process leaving behind
the desire features and components. Using the
subtractive process has many advantages. Much
larger elements can be made, meaning there is a
wide selection of raw material that can be used. Also
elements can be more accurately fabricated and they
are more economical and faster for large quantities.59
Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) milling and
routing are two of the most firmly established
digital fabrication techniques.60 The CNC process
uses a computer system to generate code (G-code)
instructions that control the movements of a machine
tool. G-code is basically a programming language that
gives the CNC machine the coordinates from which to
hold and engage the machining tool in order to cut
and shape the material. All CNC machines have two
or more programmable directions of motion called
axes. One of the first specifications that imply a CNC
machine’s complexity is how many axes it has. The
more axes, the more complex the machine is hence
the more complex work it can produce.
CNC milling or routing has two main roles: first it may
be applied to remove material from a volume and
fabricate components in a manner similar to carving.61
Since G-code gives the machine specific instructions to
produce the components from a volume material, this
process can reduce the amount of waste material as
well as facilitate the effective and relative economical
making of nonstandard components.62 The second
application relates to the results. Due to the fact that
the CNC machine can perform in a high degree of
accuracy and complexity on surfaces, this facilitates
to fabricate geometrically sophisticated molds.
An experimental project from the Institute for Advanced
Architecture of Catalonia has made the “ ,” part of the
Smart City Expo in Barcelona, Spain. The project aims
to explore how technology can create architecture that
is adaptive to particular environmental conditions.
Designed to be fabricated by CNC machines, the
building was assembled out of in a month. The parts
were defined in a digital format string and cut into very
quickly, even if they were completely different from
each other with no additional cost.63 The components
came to site they are pre-drilled and slotted, and can
be assembled like flat pack furniture.
59 Digital Fabrication59 Digital Fabrication59 Digital Fabrication Image 3.04
60
The third technique is based on an additive technique
which slowly builds up material in layers rather than
removing it.64 All additive processes work on the basis
of translating digital design information into a series
of two-dimensional layers.65 The physical object is
made through an accumulative process of layering.
Its advantages include the direct conversation from
digital model, which means that no additional devices
or molds are required. Sophisticated geometry and
internal voids are also easily fabricated, and it does
not require a special program language or machine
skill to use the application.66
This additive category of digital fabrication is most
commonly known as rapid prototyping. Rapid
prototyping enables quick fabrication of physical
models using three-dimensional computer aided
design data. The process lies in the gradual buildup
of incremental two-dimensional layers of material to
produce a three-dimensional object.67 The process
most commonly known as a type of rapid prototyping
is 3D printing. The 3D printing machine reads the
data from the CAD drawing and lays down successive
layers of liquid, powder, or sheet material – building
up the physical model from a series of cross sections.
These layers, which correspond to the virtual cross
section from the CAD model, are automatically joined
together to create the final shape.
Typically, rapid prototyping systems can produce
3D models within a few hours. The most significant
limitation of rapid prototyping process has been the
size of objects they are able to fabricate. Considering
the expense of additive fabrication machines, along
with the relatively long time required for making
the object, has led to a reasonable narrow use
in architecture. The greatest application of rapid
prototyping is typically during the design process,
in which the designer can examine complex and
curvilinear geometries in physical formations rather
than digital ones.68
A New York based architecture studio, Kokkugia, has
come up with a project that explores structures based
on fibrous skeletons. Unlike conventional skyscrapers,
which have a hard outer covering to increase stability,
the Fibrous Tower is based on algorithmic design
methodologies that explore ornamental, structural
and spatial order through this lens. According to the
creators, the project compresses the structural and
tectonic hierarchies of contemporary tower design into
a single shell. This shell self-organizes in response
to the conflicting set of criteria. The firm used a
stereolithographic, the first form of rapid prototyping,
as part of a series of investigations that explore
different structure designs.
Additive
6161 Digital Fabrication61
6262
Daiareef is a thesis project for AA, London. The thisis aims for the development of a self-prganize system
that can adapt to a high pressure enviroment.
Image 3.05
63
DIGITAL FABRICATION StrategiesThere are a wide range of digital design and fabrication
approaches that may enhance or replace traditional
aspects of the architectural design process. Within
these approaches, there are a number of key ways of
integrating digital technologies to achieve the desired
result. This process is sometimes referred to as
“tooling”, defined as the provision and setting up of
tools for a machining process.”69 Within this tooling
process, there are four different approaches that are
primarily implemented by architectural designers.
These approaches are: contouring, folding, forming,
and sectioning.70
The first approach is contouring, unlike the other
methods, it is subtractive in nature. This technique
reshapes a surface and creates a three-dimensional
relief by removing successive layers of material
such as carving. Carving is the long-established
technique of working with materials in architecture,
principally in stone and wood stretching back to
ancient civilizations.71 The main difference between
the two processes lays in the nature of the tooling of
each method. Incorporating digital processes into the
design and construction of contoured surfaces allows
for a consistent form and quicker productions, as well
as control the type of texture on surface. Contouring
is readily achieved using CNC routing and milling
processes and may extend surface characteristics by
incorporating geometrical variation and complexity
into otherwise planar materials.72 However using
the CNC for contouring can be time-consuming and
demands a considerable amount of material. Because
of its wasteful nature, it is not conceivable to create an
entire building by carving it out of a solid material. The
process if contouring has enabled architect to achieve
highly imaginative effects from traditional materials,
by articulating their properties in an effective and
transformative manner.73
Bone Wall by urban A&O is a great example of
implementing and contorting to create a highly
complex and fluid form constructed of detailed
pieces of foam. The idea of this project is to explore
continuity of surfaces and modulation of light within
the wall as well as to provide elements for storage and
seating. The firm did this project as an experiment
aimed toward the advancement of contemporary
architectural practice and to demonstrate new
opportunity for designers to participate more directly
in processes of fabrication.
Contouring
Digital Fabrication
64
The second approach is folding, the simple act of
turning a flat surface into a three-dimensional form,
can be best described as an exercise in architectural
origami. Folding has a rich potential for defining
structural geometry. Through folding, the self-
supporting effective span and rigidity of sheet
materials may increase substantially, offering further
design development.74 Of course the structural ability
for the surfaces relies greatly on the characteristic
of the surface material. Using two-dimensional
surfaces to create three-dimensional forms has an
extensive history in product design and other creative
disciplines. This allows designers to shift from scale
models to full-size prototypes, which allows them not
only to explore but directly experience it. The data
there unfolded sheets is usually used with the laser
cutter. The advantage of laser cutters is that they
can score sheet material rather than cut all the way
through its thickness, affording fold to be more easily
made.75
The Starlight Theater by Studio Gang Architects was
designed for Rock Valley College to replace an existing
outdoor venue. The firm incorporated a faceted roof
structure whose folding geometry permits the center
sections to open upward, so that each roof panel
overlaps its neighbor in a similar manner to flower
petals.76 They used the folding and laser cutter to make
this structure a reality. What makes this roof structure
amazing is the ability to open and close depending on
the weather for their performances.
Next approach is forming. Forming is a ubiquitous
method used for such things as packing, cell phones,
car bodies and anything else made out of plastic. It is
readily applied for the mass production of consumer
products. For architecture the method of forming
usually was relegated to the use of concrete. Digital
fabrication approaches the method requiring a mold
and form which is usually created via CNC milling, but
occasionally used rapid-prototyping techniques.77 The
process produces positive and negative molds, also
referred as female and male. The positive molds
can be used for thermo- and vacuum molding, while
negative molds may facilitate casting and injection
moldings.78 Forming is a key way of making curvilinear
elements.
Franken Architekten designed the Bubble for the
BMW Trade Fair combining this approach with
contouring. The Bubble was one of the first structures
in the world which was completely created with digital
means, from the design through to construction.79
The frames were evolved from the parametric design
and laser cut 3,500 individual pieces from sheets
aluminum. The cladding elements, which comprised
305 unique acrylic-glass panels, were heated formed
onto individual CNC-milled foam blocks.80 With all the
components fabricated, they were able to assemble it
on site with no problems.
Folding Forming
65
The fourth approach is sectioning, the act of creating
a three-dimensional form by connecting a skin over
closely placed parallel ribs. This approach has a long
time history in the construction of ships and airplanes.
The form of the object is defines by a series of sections
that are covered with a material or skin. Digital
fabrication techniques typically used in sectioning are
cutters, particularly laser cutter and CNC routers.
Burnham Pavilion, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects,
shows how curvilinear geometry and methods of
overlaying combined can create a complex structure.
The pavilion comprises intricate bent-aluminum
structural sections; each shaped and welded to create
its unique curvilinear form.81 The structural sections
are then covered with stretched fabric. The tent-like
shape has been planned to be collapsible and re-
installed without any difficulties.82
Finally the last approach is tessellating, which
aesthetically resembles a mosaic composition, is
a collection of pieces that fit together without gaps
to form a plane or surface. The history of tiling is a
long established in traditional manual craftsmanship-
producing mosaics, stained glass windows, and
other ornaments. One of the many advantages of
digital design and fabrication methods is that they
can effectively overcome the previous investment of
time and also provide ways in which patterns may be
generated and optimized to gain maximum impact
both visually and materiality-especially concerning
the reduction of waste.83 Also another big difference
between historical and contemporary tessellating is
that digital technologies give us the ability to create
divergent doubly curved surfaces.
3XN’s design for Horten’s new Copenhagen
headquarters demonstrates innovative use of three-
dimensional tessellation to address design issues.84
The building units are consciously designed to ensure
that they buildings energy consumption is ten per
cent less that required by the energy guidelines in
the Danish building codes.85 The façade elements
were developed specifically for this building’s complex
geometry providing bay windows views towards the
water while avoiding direct sunlight.
Digital Fabrication
Sectioning Tessellation
6666Image 3.06
6767 Digital Fabrication67Image 3.07
68
Digital fabrication signals a major shift in the way we
may engage architectural design. The techniques used
by digital fabrication required designers to rethink their
design process, often developing novel methodologies
and nonlinear approaches. As designers we are
now able to produce precise and complex geometry
combined with direct making and assembly process,
and exploit material performance will result of the
architects returning to a position of master builders
which have disappeared in the medieval times.
Essentially the use of digital fabrication will become
the future of architecture.
69
FOOTNOTES(FAB)BOTS customised robotic devices for
design & fabrication in FABRICATE2012 by
Marta Male-Alemany, Jeron Van Ameijde and
Victor Vina, 2011:40
Sheil, Bob, and Ruairi Glynn. (2009) Fabricate:
Making Digital Architecture. Toronto: Riverside
Architectural, p.6.
Iwamoto, L. (2009) Digital Fabrication:
Architectural and Material Techniques.
Princeton Architectural Press, p.5.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.49.
Ibid, p.76.
Ibid, p.77.
Kieran, Stephen, and James Timberlake. (2004)
Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing
Methodologies Are Poised to Transform Building
Construction. New York: McGraw-Hill, p.xii.
Ibid, p.xiii.
Bortha, M and Sass, L. (2006) The Instant
House: Design and digital fabrication of housing
for developing environments, CAADRIA 2006
Kumamoto (Japan), p.209.
Bortha, M and Sass, L. (2006) The Instant
House: Design and digital fabrication of housing
for developing environments, CAADRIA 2006
Kumamoto (Japan), p.211.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.84.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.88.
Ibid, p.88.
Ibid, p.91.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.94.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.89.
Ibid, p.96.
Ibid, p.96.
Ibid, p.96.
Grozdanic, Lidija. “Endessa Pavilion Is a Modular
Solar Collector by IAAC.” EVolo | Architecture
Magazine. EVOLO, LLC, 29 Aug. 2012. Web. 05
Oct. 2012. <http://www.evolo.us/architecture/
endessa-pavilion-is-a-modular-solar-collector-
by-iaac/>.
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
70
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in Archi-
tecture. London: Laurence King, p.89.
Ibid, p.89.
Ibid, p.89.
Ibid, p.102.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in Archi-
tecture. London: Laurence King, p.104.
The Chambers Dictionary. Chambers Harrap,
2001.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in Archi-
tecture. London: Laurence King, p.121.
Ibid, p.130.
Ibid, p.130.
Ibid, p.130.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in Archi-
tecture. London: Laurence King, p.140.
Ibid, p.140.
Ibid, p.143.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in Archi-
tecture. London: Laurence King, p.148.
Ibid, p.148.
“Bubble.” - FRANKENARCHITEKTEN. Franken
Architekten GmbH, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.franken-architekten.de/index.
php?pagetype=projectdetail>
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.152.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.158.
“Burnham Eco Pavilion by Zaha Hadid Architects
and UNStudios.” Burnham Eco Pavilions by
Zaha Hadid and UNStudio. Tuvie - Futuristic
Technology, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://
www.tuvie.com/burnham-eco-pavilions-by-
zaha-hadid-and-unstudio/>.
Dunn, Nick. (2012) Digital Fabrication in
Architecture. London: Laurence King, p.166.
Ibid, p.168.
“Horten Headquarters.” 3xn Architects. 3xn
Architects, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://
www.3xn.dk/en/>.
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
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84
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71
IMAGE NOTES3.01
3.02
3.03
3.04
3.05
3.06
3.07
http://thestraighttorquer.com/wp-content/
uploads/2012/02/disney-2-1024x768.jpg
http://blog.archpaper.com/wordpress/wp-
content/uploads/2012/02/SDA_desk-0080.
jpg
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_0l2613wxR08/
R1MFbtAXlVI/AAAAAAAAACY/PIv_B9i31x0/
s1600-R/image.jpg
http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/
uploads/2012/09/505be68f28ba0d27150
0021b_endesa-pavilion-iaac__mg_0358.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.
com/2796/4410373569_b6d93a0b48_b.
jpg
http://www.bustler.net/images/gallery/
zaha_hadid_burnham_pavilion_10.jpg
http://abduzeedo.com/files/originals/u/url.
jpg
72
73
74
7575 Standards for a shelter23
What are the basic needs for a shelter?Image 4.01
7676
What are the basic needs for a shelter?
Destroyed homes after Hurricane Sandy in Queens, NY
77
THE BASIC ELEMENTS FOR LIFE INCLUDE
Shelter - Clean Water - Sanitation
Standards for a shelter
78
Shelter is a critical determinant for survival in the
initial staged of a disaster. Beyond survival, shelter
is necessary to provide security, personal safety and
protection from the climate and to promote resistance
to ill health and disease.86 It is also very important for
human dignity, “to sustain family and community life
and to enable the effected population to recover from
the impact of disaster.”87
According to the Minimum Standards in Shelter,
Settlement, and Non-Food Items by The Sphere
Project, everyone has the right to adequate housing.
This includes the right to live in security, peace, and
dignity.88 These instruments are define as:
- sufficient space and protection from
cold, damp, heat, rain, wind, and other
threats to health
- sustainable access to natural and
common resources: safe drinking water,
heating and lighting, sanitation and
washing facilities, and emergency
services
- that building materials and policies
relating to housing construction appro-
piately enable the expression of cultural
identity and diversity of housing 89
After a disaster, the opportunity to return to their own
land and dwelling is a major goal for most disaster-
affected victims. Shelter responses should enable
affected populations to incrementally upgrade and/
or make the transition from emergency to durable
housing solution.
An approach rather than a phase of response, the
provision of transitional shelter responds to the fact
that post-disaster shelter is often undertaken by
the affected population themselves.90 Post-disaster
shelter solutions should be reused, relocate from
temporary to permanent locations, and can promote
the transition by affected populations to more durable
shelter.
According to the Minimum Standards in Shelter,
Settlement, and Non-Food Items by The Sphere Project,
for non-displaced victims on the site of their original
homes, transitional shelter can provide basic starter
home, to be upgraded, expanded or replaced over
time as resources permit. For displaces populations,
transitional shelter can provide appropriate shelter
which can be disassembled and reused when the
victims are able to return to their homes.91
TRANSITIONAL SHELTER
79 Standards for a shelter
LIVING SPACE“People should have sufficient covered living space
providing thermal comfort, fresh air, and protection
from the climate ensuring their privacy, safety, and
health and enabling essential households and live
hood activities to be undertaken.”92
According to the Minimum Standards in Shelter,
Settlement, and Non-Food Items by The Sphere
Project, for a shelter, all affected individuals have
an initial minimum covered floor area of 3.5m2 per
person.93
The living space should provide for the fallowing
activities:
- sleeping
- washing
- dressing
- care of children
- storage for food, water and household
possessions
In warm, humid climates the shelter should be
oriented and designed to maximise ventilation and
minimise entry of direct sunlight. The roof should
have a reasonable slope for rainwater drainage with
large overhangs.94 The construction of the shelter
should be lightweight. For flood zones, the use of
raised floors will minimise the risk of water entering
the shelter.
The floor-to-ceiling height is a key factor, with greater
height being preferable in hot and humid climates
to aid air circulation. In warmer climates, adjacent
shades in the outside can be used for food preparation
and cooking.95
8080AbleNook: Rapidly Deployable Modular Dwelling interior shot 28Image 4.02
81 Standards for a shelter
There are ‘transitional’ as opposed to ‘temporary.’ Emergency shelter is temporary and is intended just to provide shelter for survival. Transitional implies something that is longer-term and gives you space to carry out livelihood activities rather than just surviving.
Elizabeth Babiester, shelter advisor
82
There are ‘transitional’ as opposed to ‘temporary.’ Emergency shelter is temporary and is intended just to provide shelter for survival. Transitional implies something that is longer-term and gives you space to carry out livelihood activities rather than just surviving.
Elizabeth Babiester, shelter advisor
8383
By 2030, we will need to build
Bruce Mau, Designer 96
96,000 homes a day to give people shelter
Standards for a shelter31Image 4.03
848432
85
CASE STUDY AbleNook
Standards for a shelter
There is no “one size fits all” solution to disaster relief
housing but there is a common set of criteria: sturdy,
reliable and economical to build. One tactic for less
expensive housing solutions is prefabricated and flat-
pack shelters. Two graduate students at the University
of South Florida, Jason Ross and Sean Verdecia, have
designed the AbleNook.
“AbleNook is the only rapidly deployable portable
structure comprised of interlocking components which
can be assembled by unskilled workers in a short
period of time. These components are shipped flat-
packed in order to maximize the number of families
who are helped in disaster areas, while reducing
transportation costs.”97
The design is based on an universal aluminium
structural insulated panels (SIPs) that clip together
without the use of any tools. The main structural
members, like the floor joists and wall columns, are
also identical, extruded from aluminium and can run
electrical conduit through them. This universal plug-
and-play assembly system allows for economies of
scale during fabrication, efficient shipping and easy
assembly upon arrival.
“The design itself is a narrow room with an arched
roof covered in solar panels that collects rainwater
on both ends and directs it into a collection tank
at the back of the house. Units can be single or
double-wide depending on the need and can include
multiple bedrooms, kitchen, work space, storage and
bathroom. Adjustable footing foundations allow the
unit to be placed on uneven surfaces.”98
ADVANTAGES
- Units are shipped flat packed
- More units can be delivered by truck
- Can be deployed on wildly uneven
terrain
- Units can be assembled by unskilled in-
dividuals in minutes, without tools
- Integrated electrical = Plug-in anywhere
- Can be expanded for larger space
requirements with ease in minutes
- Thermally insulated
- Units can be used for residential,
military, home office, and school
- Thermodynamically based upon bunga-
low typology = passive cooling effect
- Can be re-used = long term savings 99
Standards for a shelter Image 4.04
86
Image 4.05 Image 4.06
Image 408
Image 4.09 Image 4.10
Image 4.07
Flat Packaged for transportation
Exploded isometric of structure
Aluminium connectors
Solar panels
Exterior perspective
Mechanical system on the back
8787 Standards for a shelter35Image 4.11
8888
AbleNook: Rapidly Deployable Modular Dwelling
89
FOOTNOTES“Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards
in Humanitarian Response.” The
Sphere Handbook. The Sphere Project, n.d.
Web. 17 Jan. 2013.
<http://www.spherehandbook.org/en/how-to-
use-this-chapter-2/>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Alter, Lloyd. “Join Bruce Mau. Be Part of the
World House Project.” TreeHugger. Treehugger,
24 Feb. 2006. Web. 17 Jan. 2013. <http://
www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/
join-bruce-mau-be-part-of-the-world-house-
project.html>
Verdeci, Sean, and Jason Ross. “Ablenook-
modular Universal Space Creation on Demand
- Home.” Ablenook-modular Universal Space
Creation on Demand - Home. University of
South Florid, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. < http://
www.ablenook.com/>
Meinhold, Bridgette. “AbleNook: Flat Pack
Modular Prefab Units That Come Together In A
Snap.” Inhabitat, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 18 Jan.
2013.< http://inhabitat.com/ablenook-flat-
pack-modular-prefab-units-that-come-together-
in-a-snap/>
Verdeci, Sean, and Jason Ross. “Ablenook-
modular Universal Space Creation on Demand
- Home.” Ablenook-modular Universal Space
Creation on Demand - Home. University of
South Florid, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. < http://
www.ablenook.com/>
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
90
IMAGE NOTES4.01
4.02
4.03
4.04
4.05
4.06
4.07
4.08
4.09
4.10
4.11
http://www.theatlantic.com/
infocus/2013/01/hurricane-sandy-80-days-
later/100440/
http://www.dudeiwantthat.com/omg/pads/
ablenook-rapidly-deployable-6298.jpg
http://therealsasha.wordpress.
com/2011/10/27/7-billion-australia-the-
2011-census/
http://inhabitat.com/a-prototype-of-the-
ablenook-rapidly-deployable-emergency-
modular-living-unit-is-now-complete/
ablenook-prototype-12/
http://www.ablenook.com/gallery/
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
91
92
93 Site AnalysisImage 5.01
94
LOCATIONSThe Atlantic hurricanes runs from June 1st to November
30th. The Atlantic basin includes the Atlantic Ocean,
Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico. Peak season is
from mid-August to late October.
As shown in image 1.02, you can see that must
hurricane activity starts in Africa and travels through
the Caribbean Sea. This area is known as Hurricane
Alley. It is known for its warm waters of the Atlantic
Ocean. It stretches from the west coast of Africa all
the way to the Gulf Coast of United States. Hurricanes
form over tropical waters in areas of high humidity,
light winds, and warm sea surface temperature, which
makes Hurricane Alley an ideal place for hurricanes to
form. The sea surface temperature of the Atlantic in
Hurricane Alley has been steadily growing warmer over
the past decades, which most climate scientist believe
accounts for the increase in hurricane activity.100
For this reasons, I have choose three different sites
to conduct my research, New Orleans, South Florida,
and Puerto Rico. Through my research I have found
that these are the areas that are most affected by
hurricanes and would be an ideal places to design the
shelter module.
Hurricane Alley
95 Site AnalysisSite Analysis
HURRICANE PATHS 1850 - 2008Looking close on the three site, I diagrammed all the
hurricane activity that has passed through each site.
I narrowed it down to category 3 or higher hurricanes.
According to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale,
a category 3 can sustains winds 111-129 mph. It
is consider to be a major hurricane that can cause
devastating damages.101 This type of hurricane can
damage well-built frame homes and, electricity and
water will be unavailable for several days to weeks
after the storm passes.102 The bold dash lines on the
map represent category 5 hurricanes. This type of
hurricane can sustain 157 mph or higher winds. It is
consider to cause catastrophic damages.
Looking at all three maps, its evident that all three
sites have a high level of hurricane activity. However,
Puerto Rico stands out the most in the amount of
hurricane activity and the most category 5 hurricanes.
This is true due to the fact that Puerto Rico is one of
the first islands in the Hurricane Alley.
gets hit by hurricanes every 2.24 years.
Image 5.02
96
gets hit by hurricanes every 1.99 years.
gets hit by hurricanes every 3.13 years.
Image 5.03
9797 Site Analysis
Crescent City
45Image 5.04
98
NEW ORLEANSIn 1699, French explorers and brothers Pierre Le
Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville and Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne,
Sieur de Bienville found the mouth of the Mississippi
River and established the first European settlement
on the Gulf coast called New Orleans, named after
the Duc d’Orleans, on the high ground along the
Mississippi.103
A four-by-eleven block area was established on the
bend of the river that became known as the French
Quarter.104 The people that inhabited early New
Orleans came from many groups including Native
American, French, African, and Caribbean islands.
No group was dominant in the early days and there
was a great mixing of the cultures. From this mixing
came a unique culture that influenced food, music,
architecture, and language. New Orleans became
America’s most unique city with its multicultural
influence and joy of life attitude.105
New Orleans was a difficult place to live with its
swampy land, terrific heat and humidity. Mosquitoes
plagued the residents with Yellow Fever and resulted
in an unusually high death rate. Out of the sorrow of
death came a proliferation of Jazz bands that began
and flourished in the city.106
Jim Crow laws of the south began to change New
Orleans’ multicultural nature. African-Americans and
Creoles, once a vibrant part of the city’s culture and
social scene, were now excluded and marginalized.
American city that started off with various ethnic
groups for the most part getting along had become like
most American cities in the 50s and 60s with racial
tensions that occasionally broke out into riots. New
Orleans remains a city of racial tension, but it seems
to be put to the side at some of the great events such
as Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival.107
99 Site Analysis
SOUTH FLORIDAWritten records about life in Florida began with the
arrival of the Spanish explorer and adventurer Juan
Ponce de León in 1513. Ponce de León waded
ashore on the northeast coast of Florida, possibly
near present-day St. Augustine. He called the area
la Florida, in honor of Pascua florida (“feast of the
flowers”).108
The French adventurers prompted Spain to accelerate
her plans for colonization. Pedro Menéndez de
Avilés hastened across the Atlantic, his sights set
on removing the French and creating a Spanish
settlement. Menéndez arrived in 1565 at a place he
called San Augustín (St. Augustine) and established
the first permanent European settlement in what is
now the United States.109
Britain gained control of Florida in 1763 in exchange
for Havana, Cuba, which the British had captured from
Spain during the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). Spain
evacuated Florida after the exchange, leaving the
province virtually empty. At that time, St. Augustine
was still a garrison community with fewer than five
hundred houses, and Pensacola also was a small
military town.110
Later on British evacuated Florida, giving Spain control
over it again. Many of the new residents were lured by
favorable Spanish terms for acquiring property. Others
who came were escaped slaves, trying to reach a place
where their U.S. masters had no authority. Instead of
becoming more Spanish, Florida increasingly became
more “American.” Finally, after several official and
unofficial U.S. military expeditions into the territory,
Spain formally ceded Florida to the United States in
1821, according to terms of the Adams-Onís Treaty.111
Florida became the twenty-seventh state in the United
States on March 3, 1845. By 1850 the population
had grown to 87,445, including about 39,000 African
American slaves and 1,000 free blacks.112
World War II spurred economic development in Florida.
Because of its year-round mild climate, the state
became a major training center for soldiers, sailors,
and aviators of the United States. One of the most
significant trends of the postwar era has been steady
population growth, resulting from large migrations
to the state from within the U.S. and from countries
throughout the western hemisphere, notably Cuba
and Haiti.113
100100
The Sunshine
StateImage 5.05
101101 Site Analysis48
BorinkenImage 5.06
102
PUERTO RICOWhen Christopher Columbus reached Puerto Rico in
1493, the island was inhabited by an Arawak Indian
tribe known as the Taíno. The Taíno were the most
recent of numerous indigenous tribes to settle the
island.114
Columbus claimed Puerto Rico for Spain and named
it San Juan Bautista, but the Spanish would not
settle the island until 1508, when Juan Ponce de
León landed on its shores and established the town
of Caparra in the north of the island. A year later, he
moved east and founded a new city that boasted a
deep harbor; he called it Puerto Rico, or “Rich Port.”
This would soon become the name of the island.115
The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors nearly wiped
out the native Taíno population; their remaining
descendants gradually merged with the Spanish
settlers and the African slaves that the conquistadors
brought to the island.116
In the 1700s, Puerto Rico’s fortunes began to change,
thanks to an agricultural boom. Sugar, tobacco and
coffee became lucrative exports that gave rise to
a wealthy class of landowners and a labor class of
country folk called the jíbaros. The jíbaro have come
to be a cherished part of our social fabric, and their
music, culture and hardworking spirit have helped
define modern Puerto Rico.117
In 1870, Puerto Rico saw the establishment of its first
political parties: The Liberal Conservative Party was
traditionalist, while the Liberal Reformist Party
favoured autonomy. Leading the Autonomy movement
was Luis Muñoz Rivera, the “George Washington of
Puerto Rico.” It was Rivera’s determined efforts that
gave Puerto Rico its first taste of freedom in 1897. But
the Spanish-American War in 1898 brought the island
under U.S. control.118
In 1952, Puerto Rico ratified its own constitution
and officially became a commonwealth, or “free
associated state” of the United States. It was a time
of rapid modernization on the island. In 1947, Puerto
Rico embarked on an industrial advancement program
called “Operación Manos a la Obra,” or “Operation
Bootstrap,” which introduced growth through external
capital and tax exemptions. Coupled with US laws
that allowed for exemption from federal taxes for
businesses operating in Puerto Rico, Operation
Bootstrap ushered in an unprecedented era of
prosperity. The island’s agricultural backbone gave way
to a new industrial economy, and it became a highly
desirable destination for U.S. corporate interests.
In particular, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals
companies planted deep roots on the island, so much
so that Puerto Rico became the source for nearly all
drugs that carried the label “Made in America.”119
103
CLIMATEThe climate on all three regions are all very similar,
hot climate and fully humid. Summers tend to be very
warm and the winters are comfortably cool. Precipi-
tation varies a bit in South Florida compared to the
other two sites, however all three locations get a high
amount of rainfall throughout the year.
Site Analysis
New
Orle
ans
Sout
h Fl
orid
aPu
erto
Ric
o
104
Temperature[oF] Precipitation[in]
Image 5.07
105 Site Analysis New
Orle
ans
Sout
h Fl
orid
aPu
erto
Ric
o
FLOOD ZONE
106
2 MILES
10 MILES
50 MILES
Image 5.08
107 Site Analysis
SOILSMost of the soils are normally found in humid and
tropical regions. Majority of them are clay based or
hard top soils. A few are particle-size class, like Spo-
dosols, that have a soft texture like sand. With the
variation of the soil types, it will help me design the
appropriate footing/base of the module shelter.
Sout
h Fl
orid
aPu
erto
Ric
oN
ew O
rlean
s
108
2 MILES
10 MILES
50 MILES
Image 5.09
109
DEMOGRAPHICS
Site Analysis
110
Image 5.10
111 Site Analysis
The map shows the distribution and numbers of the 1.3 million individuals who filed FEMA for assistance after Hurricane Katrina 23 September 2005
Site Analysis
112
SITE ANALYSIS RESPONSE
To get a better understanding of the three sites to
help dictate my design process, I decided to use all
the data that I have gathered to create three different
scenarios. Each scenario will showcase a major
disaster problem that prevents existing shelters from
reaching out to the victims.
Each scenario will provide a problem fallowing by a
case study highlighting the solution. By studying each
case study, it will provide me a set of guidelines to
incorporate in my design process.
Image 5.11
113113 Site Analysis113
Scenario #1As a hurricane impacts the land, a large amount
of rainfall is expected. Heavy rain causes flood
waters to rise and pool in streets and throughout
neighbourhoods. During flooding, the greatest
threat comes from a moving water. The deeper
the moving water, the greater the threat.
As mentioned in current disaster recovery
chapter, the article “Sandy Aftermath: FEMA
Trailers Sitting Unused, Despite Thousands Still
Powerless In New York” by ABC News, highlights
the issues of providing shelter to victims in flood
zones. As the article recalls, FEMA refused to
provide trailers to the victims of Hurricane Sandy
because their area was flooded. This is not the
first time this has happened with FEMA. Same
issues arise when Hurricane Katrina hit New
Orleans.
As showed in image 5.07, both New Orleans and
Florida have a huge flood zone. New Orleans was
underwater for weeks after Hurricane Katrina.
It is predicted that by 2050 New Orleans will
sink thirty inches.121 With hurricanes becoming
more of a common occurrences, more than ever,
we need shelters that can be deployed in flood
zones.
FLOODING
114114
Image 5.12
115 Site Analysis
CASE STUDY The FLOAT House -By Morphosis Architects
The FLOAT House is a new kind of house: a house
that can sustain its own water and power needs; a
house that can survive the floodwaters generated by
a storm the size of Hurricane Katrina; and perhaps
most importantly, a house that can be manufactured
cheaply enough to function as low-income housing.122
The concept for the house is twofold:
- to design a foundation that enables the
house to function independently of the basic
infrastructure and public services
- to create a new house that rests on that
foundation but its wholly integrated with the
natural environment, respectful of New
Orleans vernacular and enriched with
sustainable technologies123
The penalized walls, windows, interior finishes and
kit-of-parts roof are prefabricated, to be assembled
on-site along with the installation of fixtures and
appliances.
The FLOAT House is a flood-safe house that securely
floats with rising water levels. Nearly 200 million
people worldwide live in high risk coastal flooding
zones , and in the US alone, over 36 million people
currently face the threat of flooding. This house
prototype proposes a sustainable way of living that
adapts to this uncertain reality.124
MAKE IT: FLOAT
An internal mechanism allows the FLOAT House to rise
vertically on guide post, securely floating up to twelve
feet of flooding and existing completely off the grid
for up to twenty-one days. In the event of a flood, the
house’s chassis acts as a raft, guided by steel masts,
which are anchored to the ground by two concrete pile
caps each with six 45-foot deep piles.125
The FLOAT House is a high-performance house that
generates and sustains its own water and power. This
systems include:
- Solar Power Generator
- Rainwater Collection
- Water Efficient Systems
- High-grade Energy Efficient Kitchen
- Geothermal Heating and Cooling
MAKE IT: GREEN
116
Image 5.14
Image 5.13 Image 5.15
Image 5.16 Image 5.17
117
FLOAT HOUSE: Parts
FLOOR PLAN 1 FRONT PORCH 2 LIVING ROOM 3 GALLERY 4 KITCHEN 5 BEDROOM 6 BATH 7 MECHANICAL 8 GUIDE POSTS
Site AnalysisImage 5.18
118
119119
Scenario #2Most of the island of Puerto Rico is covered of
central interior mountain ranges. It includes the
interior mountains, hills, mountain sides, and
low area within the mountains. During hurricane
season, this area of the island becomes the
most vulnerable. Mostly because of the altitude
they get hit by strong winds and large amount of
rainfall creates mud-slides.
The image shown is a small town in located in
the middle of Puerto Rico. The town is far away
from major cities. So after a hurricane passes, it
becomes difficult for them to get supplies or any
shelter. The fact that they live on the mountains
makes it hard for majority of currently emergency
shelters to be stationed forcing the victims to
travel. This issues does not only occur in Puerto
Rico, it is also a major issue in many islands in the
Caribbean Sea. For a solution, we need a shelter
that can be easily transported to this areas and
be able to adjust to uneven grounds.
UNEVEN GROUND
Site Analysis119Image 5.19
120120
121
CASE STUDY Uber Shelter -By Rafael Smith
Uber Shelter is an organization with the mission of
providing temporary and transitional shelter to meet
the needs of people displaced by natural disaster and
conflict.126 Agencies working on a transitional shelter
project in Port-du-Prince have found that many parcels
of land are too small. A second story of living space was
provided adequate floor are per person. This shelter
can be very quickly transported and reassemble with
just a few necessary tools and provide victims with a
more personal place to live. There are five points that
the designer wanted to meet:
- easily transportable, collapsible, and able to
shipped flat
- built of recyclable materials and have the
ability to be reused
-easy to erect and assembled with few or no
tools
- infrastructure can be used as a basic
structure, but have the capabilities to
upgrade and implement modern
conveniences
- stackable127
Uber Shelter is shipped flat to allow for transport
via air, sea, and land. All components that create
the modular living unit are stored inside the shelter
in its collapsed position during transport. It is then
taken apart and assembled on location. The shelter
has been designed to adapt to different situations,
terrains, and climate.
Camps needs are addresses in phases.
Phase 1
Is to meet the basic needs of the people, providing
them with the bare essentials.
Phase 2
When there is more time, funding, and personnel,
phase two will provide with more pleasant solutions
and conveniences. This will include outhouse,
electricity for light, compact stove, and refrigerator.
ASSEMBLY PHASES
Site Analysis
122
Image 5.20 Image 5.21
Image 5.23 Image 5.24
Image 5.22
123123
ASSEMBLY
collapsed shelter (4x8x2 ft)
sleeping loft
attach roof
telescoping legs
assemble frame and floors
Site AnalysisImage 5.25
124
attach walls and windows
vented roof ridge
shaded porch for out-doorcooking
secured to ground withload-rated earth anchors
125 Site Analysis125 Site Analysis
When a hurricane makes landfall, the shear force
of hurricane strength winds can destroy buildings,
topple trees, bring down power lines, and blow
vehicles off roads. As mentioned earlier in the
book, hurricane can sustain winds over 150 mph.
Hurricane winds impact homes and other
buildings in two different ways: differential
pressures act on the building envelope and wind-
borne debris may strike a building.
As mentioned in current disaster recovery
chapter, the article “Where did the money go in
Haiti?” by WGBH News, over half a million of the
earthquake victims in Haiti are still living in tents
or tarps shelters. This kind of shelter cannot
sustain hurricane winds. A lot of this big rescue
agencies can not provide sufficient shelters to
hurricane victims leaving them vulnerable for the
next hurricane.
WINDS
Site Analysis125
126126
Scenario #3
Image 5.26
127 Site Analysis
CASE STUDY Tornado House -By I0 Design
Architects at I0 Design have developed a prototype
house able to tackle extreme weather. Equipped with
high-tech mechanisms for tornado evasion and flood
resistance, Tornado House, is able to change positions
in order to avoid damage. It can tuck itself beneath
the ground just like a turtle retracts its vulnerable
head away from danger.
A system of hydraulic levers would be used to push the
moving structure up and down, out of a sunken dock
beneath the ground. When the house is secured for
safety, a watertight seal would protect it from intense
winds and thunderstorms. Solar cells on the exterior
rotate and flex to maximize solar power generation,
while the skin itself is composed of a translucent
insulation sandwiches between two layers of Kevlar.128
Kevlar is a fiber used to make a variety of clothing,
accessories, and equipped for safe and cute resistant.
It’s lightweight and extraordinarily strong, with five
times the strength of steel on an equal-weight basis.
The architects envision entire communities of the
house, where any residence can sound an alarm
to warm others of approaching tornados. The first
prototype is currently in development.
With the optimal environmental conditions re-
established, the building emerges, exposing its
inhabitants to open air and natural light. Ted Givens,
a design partner at 10 Design, apparently has a
vision of communities wired up with sensors and can
process weather data to tuck away the homes in case
of an emergency.129
128
Image 5.27 Image 5.28
Image 5.30 Image 5.31
Image 5.29
129129 Site Analysis129Image 5.32
130130
131
FOOTNOTES“Hurricane Alley Heats Up : Image of the Day.”
Hurricane Alley Heats Up : Image of the Day. The
Earth Observatory, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. <
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.
php?id=5742>
“Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.” Saffir-
Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. NOAA/ National
Weather Service, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013. <
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php>
Ibid
“The Institute for New Orleans History and
Culture: A Brief History of New Orleans.” The
Institute for New Orleans History and Culture:
A Brief History of New Orleans. The Institute
for New Orleans History and Culture, n.d. Web.
20 Dec. 2012. < http://www.gmc.edu/library/
neworleans/NOhistory.htm>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
“Florida Division of Historical Resources.” A
Brief History of Florida. Florida Deparment of
State - Division of Historical Resources, n.d.
Web. 20 Dec. 2012. < http://www.flheritage.
com/facts/history/summary/index.cfm>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
“About Puerto Rico.” History. Puerto Rico
Tourism Company, n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2012.
<http://www.seepuer torico.com/about/
history>
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, Cities and Climate Change, 2010
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
132
Mayne, Thom, Stan Allen, and Thom Mayne.
(2011) Combinatory Urbanism: The Complex
Behavior of Collective Form. Culver City, CA:
Stray Dog Café, p.342.
“The FLOAT House – Make it Right / Morphosis
Architects” 02 Aug 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed
02 Feb 2013. <http://www.archdaily.
com/259629>
Mayne, Thom, Stan Allen, and Thom Mayne.
(2011) Combinatory Urbanism: The Complex
Behavior of Collective Form. Culver City, CA:
Stray Dog Café, p.346.
“The FLOAT House – Make it Right / Morphosis
Architects” 02 Aug 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed
02 Feb 2013. <http://www.archdaily.
com/259629>
Ibid
“Uber Shelter.” Uber Shelter. N.p., n.d. Web. 02
Feb. 2013. <http://www.ubershelter.org/about.
html>
Ibid
Grozdanic, Lidija. “Tornado Proof House /
10 Design.” EVolo | Architecture Magazine.
EVOLO, LLC, 14 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.evolo.us/architecture/tornado-
proof-house-10-design/>.
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
Ibid129
133
IMAGE NOTES5.01
5.02
5.03
5.04
5.05
5.06
5.07
5.08
5.09
5.10
Image by author
http://weather.unisys.com/hurricane/
atlantic/
Ibid
http://girltomom.com/gtom-love-it/red-
dress-run-new-orleans
http://wallpapersup.net/
wallpapers/2012/01/miami-beach-
widescreen-landscape-city-768x1024.jpg
http://transplantedtatar.wordpress.
com/2012/08/11/discovering-old-
san-juan-puerto-rico-two-forts-and-a-
cemetery/20120319-dss_5930/
http://travel.usnews.com/
http://flood.firetree.net/?II=27.2742,-
83.6719&z=10&m=10
http://usace.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.
html?id=8e525f49a00e4c9ba7effc0040b
796b7
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html
5.11
5.12
5.13
5.14
5.15
5.16
5.17
5.18
5.19
5.20
5.21
5.22
5.23
http://www.nytimes.com/
imagepages/2005/10/02/national/national
special/20051002diaspora_graphic.html
http://wtcampaigns.files.wordpress.
com/2012/09/flooding-tewkesbury-2007.jpg
http://www.archdaily.com/259629/make-it-
right-house-morphosis-architects/
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
http://morphopedia.com/files/float-house-
parts-diagram
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
en/1/1b/Comerio0041_0030.JPG
http://www.ubershelter.org/about.html
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
134
5.24
5.25
5.26
5.27
5.28
5.29
5.30
5.31
5.32
Ibid
Ibid
http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/museum_
info/press/images/nature3_lg.jpg
http://www.evolo.us/wp-content/
uploads/2011/09/Tornado-House-5.jpg
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
Ibid
135
136
137
ROBERTO ROSARIO
Age: 10
Location: Mayaguez, Puerto Rico
Income: None
Status: Orphan
EDWARD MILLER
Born: 61
Location: Miami, Florida
Income: $42,385 / year
Status: Retired
HOWARD FAMILY
Maried: 18 years
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Income: $23,050 / year
Status: Below Poverty Level
Image 6.01
Image 6.02
Image 6.03
138
USER GROUP: Most AffectedIn an event of a hurricane, nobody can predict how
badly they are going to get hit. Everybody is vulnerable
to lose their homes, however there are some few users
that are more vulnerable than others.
Roberto Rosario is a ten year old boy who bacame
an orphan couple years ago. He currently lives in an
orphanage in a small town in Puerto Rico. In an event
of a hurricane, if the orphanage gets destroyed, he
would not have no family memeber to go to for help.
Edward Miller is a retired salesman who moved to
Florida to enjoy the rest of his retirement. Like many
people his age, he has many health issues like arthritis
and diabetes. In an event of a hurricane, if a flooding
occurs, he would have difficulty to reach a safe zone.
Without his medicine, he would not be able to survive
long without assistance
The Howard Family live near the Lower 9th Warth
where they affected badly by Hurricane Katrina. They
lost their home and are currently still living in a FEMA
trailer because they dont have enough money to get a
new house. In a event of a hurricane, if New Orleans
becomes flooded again, they will lose their current
home once again and become homeless.
139
WHAT IS THE TRANSITIONAL SHELTER APPROACH?
Transitional shelter provides a habitable, covered
living space and a secure, healthy living environment,
with privacy and dignity to those within it during the
period of natural disaster and the achievement of
a durable shelter solution.130 It is not intended to
replace emergency shelter or permanent housing
but rather offer support to the affected population
incrementally in response to a natural disaster.
Transitional shelter can be categorised into four
shelter types:
A transitional shelter programme can consist of a
combination of different transitional shelter types in
order to best support the affected population.
Image 6.04
Program Development
140
LIVING SPACE
- Sleeping
- Living Area
- Storage
- Dressing / Bath
- Cooking
- Entrance
- Utility (Electric, HVAC, Pluming)
QUALITATIVE
A transitional shelter offers different kind of
programming compared to a emergency shleter or
permanent housing. The shelter needs to provide the
basic needs for the victims to be able to continue their
lives while they trnasition to a permament shelter.
The living space is a very important in the design
process. It needs to be compact and at the same time
be able to facilitate a dignify space for the victims.
As mentioned in Standard for a Shelter chapter, the
minimum surface are per person in 3.5m2 which
translate to 37.6ft2. Using this guidelines, I can
accomodate the appropiate amount of spaceing for
the shelter depending on thje number of people living
in it.
SHELTER
Image 6.05
141 Program Development
PROGRAM DIAGRAM
Connected
Adjacent
Private
Public
Image 6.06
142
QUANTITATIVE
The inner radius indicates the connections and
adjacencies between programming. Fallowing by the
spatial quality between private and public spaces
and required floor area. At the far ends of the circle
are images of compact spaces that will be integrated
within my shelter.
Image 6.07
143
FOOTNOTESCorsellis, T. and Vitale A. “Case Study No.5:
Transitional shelter: understanding shelter from
emergency through reconstuction and beyond,”
2010
130
144
IMAGE NOTES6.01
6.02
6.03
6.04
6.05
6.06
6.07
http://www.pathhelps.org/wp-content/
uploads/2011/11/hispanic-child.jpg
http://havebiblewillpreach.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/11/homeless_
portraiture_02.png
http://news.streetroots.org/sites/
default/files/wordpress/wp-content/
uploads/2009/06/jcherry-1-6.jpg
Image done by author
<http://www.spherehandbook.org/en/how-
to-use-this-chapter-2/>
Image done by author
Image done by author
145
146
147
INTRODUCTIONThe modular home has been a subject of great
interest since the beginning of the last century and
has historically been an area of both innovation and
failure. As mass production of homes grew out of the
boom years following the Second World War, architects
and builders sought efficiencies and new methods for
designing, constructing, and delivering homes to meet
growing market demands and shifts in population away
from urban centers. The call for the industrialization
and prefabrication of architecture became conflated
with modular strategies that increased the design
flexibility while allowing for individual customization. 131
The Temporary Housing Programmed Act was instigated
by the British government in 1943 at the end of the
WWII to address housing shortage. Standardization
became the key to speed, economy, and flexibility.
There were four main house-production: the Arcon:
the AIROH, the Uni-Seco, and the Tarran, all similar
in layout but different in construction materials and
methods. 132 The UK Prime Minister, Winston Churchill,
promised 500,000 temporary new homes, although
only 156,623 were actually produced between 1945
and 1949. 133 The houses would be prefabricated
in sections, in factories no longer needed for war
production, transported to where they were needed
and “bolted” together on site, in a fraction of the time
it would take to build a conventional house. 134
More recently, with the arrival of new digital fabrication
technologies and a renewed public interest in
sustainable strategies, the modular prefab home
promises material and resource efficiencies,
optimized quality control, material cost reduction, and
reduction of onsite waste and construction time. 135
Tying it in with the need of disaster relief as a result of
recent destruction of Katrina and Haiti, as mentioned
earlier, there has been an increase in rebuilding
efforts with effective homebuilding techniques and
delivery methods which elevated the issues of mass
production and modular construction to the forefront.
A relevant example is the Katrina Cottage designed
by Marianne Cusato as a response for the Hurricane
Katrina victims as a dignified alternative to the
FEMA trailers. The Katrina Cottage is a typically
small, ranging from less than 500 square feet up to
about 1,000 square feet. These cottages are prefab
houses constructed from factory-made panels. For
this reason, Katrina Cottages can be built quickly and
economically. These homes meet the International
Building Code and most hurricane codes.136
Another example of modular architecture is the
2002 British Government Classrooms of the Future.
Initiative pursued to create a new kind of mobile
school buildings that would bring together factory-
based manufacturing and the latest ideas in teaching
environments. 137 The pods are prefabricated and
integrated with the latest teaching methods. The
classrooms can function independently to the rest
of the school and its structural skin is created of
fiberglass and balsa wood.
Modular Architecture
148Image 7.01
149
PORTABLE ARCHITECTURE
Modular Architecture
Portable buildings have been in use since humankind
first began to build, yet because of their impermanent
nature it is only comparatively recently that they
began to be perceived as architecture. 138 We now
are recognizing them for their finely tuned response
to the environment, social, and cultural conditions.
Some of the sophisticated construction techniques
and complex habitation patterns that have not only
retained their relevance for thousands of years but
are linked to some of the most sophisticated building
patterns of the present day.
A relevant example is the Bedouin tent. It incorporates
compressive struts and tensile membranes that
utilize the same principles as modern tensile
engineering systems. 139 The Asian yurt uses modular
manufacturing techniques and a geodesic-based
wall structure that are familiar twentieth century
constructional strategies. 140
Portable architecture consists of structures that are
intended for easy erection on a site remote from
their manufacturer.141 In 1830 John Manning, a
carpenter and builder, conceived the first documented
prefabricated house called: Manning Portable Colonial
Cottage. The cottage became a commercial success,
and Manning developed several models of varying
size and cost, testifying to the fact that the houses
were provisioned for clients across a range of incomes
and to the notion that the prefabricated house could
be a measure of status in the colonial setting. 142 It
was a prefabricated timber building that could be
packaged into a small volume for transportation
overseas.
Today, the portable architecture movement is an
international and fast-developing phenomenon,
taking its source from the nomadic lifestyle of ancient
communities and adding to it the technology of the
modern world. As time has passed, the idea of portable
architecture has evolved. As Jude Steward, a social
media consultant, describes portable architecture:
“In the fast-growing category of “mobile
architecture,” buildings pull up stakes and
go places; factories assemble custom
housing and whisk it to ready-made sites;
materials work smarter and harder toward
sustainability; temporary structures respond
more readily to our desire for mobility,
from disaster aid to ad hoc celebrations;
and out of collective sense if place, itself,
and society shifts.” 143
Advances in architectural technology do make more
buildings forms available to the designer, but there
are other factors that affect the generation of those
forms and they are usually more powerful, such as
economic, social, cultural, and aesthetic issues.
Technology is a driving force, but it tends to drive
society first and architecture, as its servant, follows
behind. 144 We need to embrace more the technology
and start building in controlled environments.
Particularly, housing prefabrication is seen as a route
150
towards greater efficiency and faster provisions.
Jennifer Siegal, principal and founder of Office of
Mobile Design, says Factory-built prefab lets architects
“think about buildings like a product designer does” 145 In United States, a typical construction site throws
away thirty percent of the materials, whereas in a
factory ninety nine percent of those materials get
used or recycles into a new project.
For disaster relief should be a responsive, supporting
strategy that enables local people to direct their own
needs.146 The architecture should be flexible and
integrate the requirements of the present with the
possibility to adapt to changing situations in the future.
An example is an emergency shelter design by Rafael
Smith. “This project is a shelter solution that meets
the needs of emergency response but also provides
victims with a more personal place to live; a base unit
that can serve as a very basic shelter but also have
the capabilities to upgrade and implement modern
infrastructure. This shelter is also stackable. Many
alternative housing solutions deal with small scale but
can’t cope with large scale displaced populations.” 147 The shelter is made of recyclable and reusable
materials.
Image 7.02
Image 7.03
151 Image 7.04
152
CASE STUDY House ArcAn innovative module in the market is the House Arc by
Hawaii-based firm Bellomo Architects. The lightweight
metal structure is ideal as emergency housing
because it can be transported and assembled quickly.
“We designed it to be a kit of parts house that can
be assembled quickly – like prefab furniture,” says
architect Joseph Bellono. 148
The system is designed to be flat-packed and shipped
in a box measuring four feet by ten feet by three feet.
Once on site, it can easily be easily assembled. The
structure stands on four concrete footings which also
allows air to flow underneath it for cooling. It can
withstand tropical winds and features a roof design
that supports solar panels.
Image 7.05
Image 7.06
153
FOOTNOTESWilliam McDonough + Partners. “The Flow
House Adaptive Modularity.” Modular Build-
ing Institute. Modular Building Institute, 3 Oct.
2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.modu-
lar.org/htmlPage.aspx?name=Flow_House>
Kronenburg, Robert. (2007) Flexible: Architec-
ture That Responds to Change. London: Lau-
rence King, p.36
Gilbert, Clive. “PREFABS – THE SOLUTION TO A
HOUSING CRISIS.” Epsom and Ewell History Ex-
plorer. N.p., 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://
www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/
MoreOnPrefabs.pdf>
Gilbert, Clive. “PREFABS – THE SOLUTION TO A
HOUSING CRISIS.” Epsom and Ewell History Ex-
plorer. N.p., 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://
www.epsomandewellhistoryexplorer.org.uk/
MoreOnPrefabs.pdf>
William McDonough + Partners. “The Flow
House Adaptive Modularity.” Modular Build-
ing Institute. Modular Building Institute, 3 Oct.
2012. Web. 13 Oct. 2012. <http://www.modu-
lar.org/htmlPage.aspx?name=Flow_House>
“2006 - Present: Katrina Cottages.” About.
com Architecture. About.com, n.d. Web. 14 Oct.
2012. <http://architecture.about.com/od/pe-
riodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/Katrina-Cottage.
htm>
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
Kronenburg, Robert. (2007) Flexible: Archi-
tecture That Responds to Change. London:
Laurence King, p.36.
Kronenburg, Robert. (2008) Portable Ar-
chitecture: Design and Technology. Basel:
Birkhauser, p.8.
Ibid, p.8.
Ibid, p.8.
Ibid, p.8.
“Manning Portable Colonial Cottage for Emi-
grants (1833-1840).” Housing.com. Housing.
com, LLC., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. <http://
www.housing.com/categories/homes/his-
tory-prefabricated-home/manning-portable-
colonial-cottage-emigrants-1833-1840.html>
Stewart, Jude, William J. Mitchell, and Jen-
nifer Siegal. (2008) More Mobile: Portable
Architecture for Today. New York: Princeton
Architectural, p.6.
Kronenburg, Robert. (2007) Flexible: Archi-
tecture That Responds to Change. London:
Laurence King, p.90.
154
145
146
147
148
Stewart, Jude, William J. Mitchell, and
Jennifer Siegal. (2008) More Mobile:
Portable Architecture for Today. New York:
Princeton Architectural, p.7.
Kronenburg, Robert. (2007) Flexible:
Architecture That Responds to Change.
London: Laurence King, p.110.
“Uber Shelter.” Uber Shelter : An Emergency
Shelter in Disastrous Events. Tuvie -
Futuristic Technology, n.d. Web. 14 Oct.
2012. <http://www.tuvie.com/uber-shelter-
an-emergency-shelter-in-disastrous-events/>
“Bike Arc Products :: House Arc.” House
Arc. Bike Arc, LLC., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.bikearc.com/houseArc.html>
155
IMAGE NOTES7.01
7.02
7.03
7.04
7.05
7.06
http://architecture.about.com/od/
periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/Katrina-
Cottage.htm
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cymro76/
sets/72157605370281317/detail/?page=2
http://srd364lvb.blogspot.com/2008/08/
mobile-classroom.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/
garden/bellomo-architects-have-designed-
the-house-arc-a-kit-shelter.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/
garden/bellomo-architects-have-designed-
the-house-arc-a-kit-shelter.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/
garden/bellomo-architects-have-designed-
the-house-arc-a-kit-shelter.html
156
157
158
159
Catastrophic events require a new kind of planning
147 Joseph Bruno, New York City Office of Emergency Management
160
Catastrophic events require a new kind of planningJoseph Bruno, New York City Office of Emergency Management Image 8.01
161161 Schematic Design
Image 8.02 Image 8.03
Image 8.04
162162
CONCEPT MODELSThe goal is to design a prefabricated living module that
snaps together and is easily assembled, transported,
and adaptive to diverse terrain. This project is a
shelter solution that meets the needs of emergency
response, but also provides victims with a more
personal place to live.
There are four points that I will be focusing during the
design of this shelter. The shelter must be:
- easily transportable, collapsible and able to
be shipped flat
- easy to erect and assembled with a few or
no tools
- modular: to be able to accommodate
different
social and cultural context
- able to meet the three scenarios :
- Wind
- Flood
- Uneven Ground
163 Schematic Design
Image 8.05
Image 8.06
164
For form exploration, I started with a simple geometry and
began to insert parameters to manipulate it. The matrix
begins to dictate some of the parameters.
FORM EXPLORATION
- All three cities have an urban context, which means space is going to be limited. I begin to squeeze the square and make it to a rectangle to be able to fit into compact spaces.
- Puerto Rico also has rural context, which allows me to still use the square.
- Puerto Rico and New Orleans share the same social characteristics of having multiple family memebers under one household. However, poverty rates are high on both locations. The shelter now needs to begin to expand to accomodate multiple people but also incorporate energy and water saving systems.
- Florida has a low number on members per household and a high rate of retirees within the state. For this location, I can shrink the shelter and beging to accomodate for the elderly.
- New Orleans and Florida have two common scenarios: flood and wind. To tackel wind, I begin to curve the rectabgle to even out wind distribution. For flood, I begin to elevate the shelter off the ground.
- Puerto rico has two scenarios: wind and uneven ground. For wind I begin to curve as I did for the other locations. However, for uneven ground I incorporate stilts that can adapt to the uneven terrain.
165
CONCEPT SKETCHES
Schematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic Design
Image 8.07
Image 8.09
Image 8.11
Image 8.08
Image 8.10
Image 8.12
166
Image 8.13
Image 8.14
Image 8.16
Image 8.15
Image 8.17
167
DESIGN BEGINS
SMOOTH DOWN
PUSH UP
SLOPE UP
PUSH DOWN
PUSH DOWN
PUSH UP
PUSH IN
PUSH OUT
WIND
OPTION 3
OPTION 2
PUSH OUT
PUSH UP
PUSH OUT
WIND
OPTION 1
MASSING DIAGRAMS
Schematic DesignImage 8.18
168
OPTION 1
OPTION 2
OPTION 3
FUNCTION DIAGRAMS
Aerodynamics
The form provides vertical space to place a second floor within the module
By placing the bath in the center of the floor plan, it automatically creates a divide between public and private spaces
Floors are elevated up to create space for structure and run power and water utilities
By manipulation the floor plane, begin to create levels within the floor plan to use the overall space efficiently
Facing the kitchen to the living and eating space, it creates an open floor plan and allows flexibility
By angling the roof plane, I can begin to play with the angles for natural lighting and openings
Slopping the roof will allow water collection
Bending the floor plane into a upsidown V and elevating the floor, it allows me to incorporate a structure system where stilts can be places on for floods and uneven ground
Creating a utility core in the middle of the floor plan, allows me to minimize the use of partition walls
Adding a floor plane on top of the core, allows me to add more space to accomodate bigger familes
Stilts for floods and uneven groundImage 8.19
169
MODULAR SYSTEMS Master Plan 1
PUSH OUT
PUSH OUT
PUSH IN
PUSH IN
PUSH
IN
COMMUNITY SPACE
MODULE DIAGRAM
Schematic DesignSchematic DesignFORM EXPLORATION
COMMUNITY EXPLORATION
Image 8.20
Image 8.21
Image 8.22
170
OPTION 2
OPTION 1
HOUSE UNIT 1
HOUSE UNIT 2
COMMUNITY SPACE(BTWEEN 2 SHELTERS)
HOUSE UNIT 1COMMUNITY SPACE(BTWEEN 3 SHELTERS)
CIRCULATION
CIRCULATION
Image 8.23
Image 8.24
171
MODULAR SYSTEMS Master Plan 2MODULE DIAGRAM
COMMUNITY SPACE
COMMUNITY SPACE
COMMUNITY EXPLORATION & FORM EXPLORATION
COMMUNITY EXPLORATION & FORM EXPLORATION
Schematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic DesignImage 8.25
Image 8.26
Image 8.27
172
OPTION 2
OPTION 1
HOUSE UNIT 2
HOUSE UNIT 1COMMUNITY SPACE(BTWEEN 3 SHELTERS)
CIRCULATION
HOUSE UNIT 1
COMMUNITY SPACE(BTWEEN 3 SHELTERS)
CIRCULATION
Image 8.28
Image 8.29
173 Schematic Design
CASE STUDY Watervilla de Omval +31 Architects
The houseboat is currently located in
Amstel River of Amsterdam. The client
wanted a boat with an open floor plan
where they enjoy the views to the water.
Programing :
1 Jetty
2 Entrance
3 Toilet
4 Kitchen
5 Living Area
6 Floating Terrace
7 Bedroom
8 Study
9 Hall
10 Bathroom
11 Technical Area
12 Guestroom
13 Ballast
14 Storage
Image 8.30
Image 8.31
174
FLOODING SYSTEMFLOATING MODULES
PRE-DISASTER
POST-DISASTER
WATER LEVELS BEGIN TO RISE
HIGH FLOOD ZONE
CABLE STRUCTURE
Image 8.32
175
CASE STUDY Micro Compact Home Richard Horden
The Micro Compact Home is design to be lightweight
and off gris prefabricated home that can be
transported and assemble with easy. It is intended
to be adjustable to any kind of terrain and location.
Schematic Design
Image 8.33
Image 8.34
176
CURRENT SHELTERS
NEW DWELLING UNITS
RE-DESIGN
UNEVEN GROUND SYSTEM
Image 8.35
177
PASSIVE SYSTEMSSOLAR POWER
WATER COLLECTION
SOLAR PANELS
CHARGER CONTROLLER
BATTERY
INVERTER POWER
COLLECT SOLARENERGY CONVERT TO ELECTRICITY
CHARGER
BATTERY
RAIN WATERCOLLECTOR
FILTER
CONVERT TO GREYWATER
RECYCLE THE GREYWATERSchematic DesignSchematic DesignSchematic Design
Image 8.36
Image 8.37
178
WASTE TREATMENT
TOILET
EXHAUST PIPE
COMPOSITE CHAMBERS
CHAMBERS ACCESSDOOR
SELF-CONTAINED COMPOSITE TOILET
After a hurricane, a city loses its power source, water
source, and its waste system. The modules should be
able to function off the grid while the city repair itself
from the destruction.
Image 8.38
179
CASE STUDY Interiors
The interiors of the modules should break away from
the typical shelters. I began to explore the fusion
of elements, forms and textures, where floors, walls
and furniture become one continuous surface; one
seamless skin.
Every single element merges and flows, from bedroom
doors with LED lights, bathtubs and vanity units to
beds, shelves and chairs.
Schematic Design
Image 8.39
180
Image 8.40
Image 8.42
Image 8.41
Image 8.43
181 Schematic Design
LIVING AREA
84 - 112inmax. personal space communication factor
13 - 16in 58 - 80in 13 - 16in
12 -
18in
14 -
17in
eye leveleye level
sight lines
sight lines
16 - 18in
42 -
48in
6 -9
in
3 - 6in 28in 28in 28in
90 - 96in
EATING
42in
9in 24in 9in
10in16in 16in
16in
24in
40in
minimum ta�le �i�th
29 -
30in
16 -
17in
7.5i
n
18 - 24in 36 - 42in 18 - 24in
19in
�LEE�ING
2.5in 2.5in73in
6in
6in
24in
78in
36in
2.5in 2.5in73in
44 -
46in
78in
48in
single �e�
�ou�le �e�
18 -
22in
44 - 46in
104i
nre
com
men
�e�
min
imum
cei
ling
heig
ht
40 -
44in
64 -
74in
2in
46 - 62in
48in
18 -2
2in
storage �un� �e�s
����ING
counter �or��one
36in
18in
refrigerator
12in28 - 42in
min. counter space for either si�e of sin�
40in
min
. cle
aran
ce
�et
�ee
n co
unte
r an
� �
all
12in
min. counter space for either si�e of range
�all ca�inet
24 - 26in 40in
�or��one
35 -
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22in
16in
24in
12in
12in
12 -
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line
of �
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24inactivity �one
52in52in
�ater closet�ater closet
42in
36in
18in
24incirculation �one
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72in
40 -
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42in
sho�er
�AT�
ERGONOMICS Influence
Image 8.44
182
LIVING AREA
84 - 112inmax. personal space communication factor
13 - 16in 58 - 80in 13 - 16in
12 -
18in
14 -
17in
eye leveleye level
sight lines
sight lines
16 - 18in
42 -
48in
6 -9
in
3 - 6in 28in 28in 28in
90 - 96in
EATING
42in
9in 24in 9in
10in16in 16in
16in
24in
40in
minimum ta�le �i�th
29 -
30in
16 -
17in
7.5i
n
18 - 24in 36 - 42in 18 - 24in
19in
�LEE�ING
2.5in 2.5in73in
6in
6in
24in
78in
36in
2.5in 2.5in73in
44 -
46in
78in
48in
single �e�
�ou�le �e�
18 -
22in
44 - 46in
104i
nre
com
men
�e�
min
imum
cei
ling
heig
ht
40 -
44in
64 -
74in
2in
46 - 62in
48in
18 -2
2in
storage �un� �e�s
����ING
counter �or��one
36in
18in
refrigerator
12in28 - 42in
min. counter space for either si�e of sin�
40in
min
. cle
aran
ce
�et
�ee
n co
unte
r an
� �
all
12in
min. counter space for either si�e of range
�all ca�inet
24 - 26in 40in
�or��one
35 -
36in
22in
16in
24in
12in
12in
12 -
18in
line
of �
all
24inactivity �one
52in52in
�ater closet�ater closet
42in
36in
18in
24incirculation �one
sho�er
72in
40 -
50in
42in
sho�er
�AT�
The main features of ergonomics, i.e. its
humanocentricity and interdisciplinary nature are
also main features of the broad understanding of
architecture. I began to look in ergonomics as a
driving factor for my interiors spaces. The modules
are going to be small compact spaces, so I need to
create a working and living spaces that is fitting and
comfortable for the inhabitant.
Image 8.45
183
IMAGE NOTES8.01
8.02
8.03
8.04
8.05
8.06
8.07
8.08
8.09
8.10
8.11
8.12
8.13
8.14
8.15
8.16
8.17
8.18
8.19
8.20
8.21
8.22
8.23
8.24
8.25
8.26
8.27
8.28
8.29
8.30
http://deepho.files.wordpress.
com/2009/04/wasteland.jpg
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/
elijahporter/5329334252/
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http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Tessellation.
html
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http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg62/
witchyhoy3/0aaa/dezeen_Watervilla-de-
Omval-by-31-Architects-1.jpg
184
IMAGE NOTES8.31
8.32
8.33
8.34
8.35
8.36
8.37
8.38
8.39
8.40
8.41
8.42
8.43
8.44
8.45
http://www.arthitectural.com/wp-content/
uploads/2011/07/31ARCHITECTS-watervilla-
de-omval-section-1-3.jpg
Image done by author
http://www.topboxdesign.com/wp-content/
uploads/2011/03/micro-compact-home-m-
ch-design-Exterior-2.jpg
http://prefabcosm.com/media/
photos/2008/01/10/microcompact2.jpg
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http://www.archello.com/sites/default/
files/imagecache/media_image/story/
media/1074_puert_phot_06.jpg
http://ad009cdnb.archdaily.net/wp-content/
uploads/2011/10/1319491846-mg-5579-
401x500.jpg
http://ilkoboddeke.files.wordpress.
com/2013/03/dezeen_folio-staircase-by-
disguincio-and-co_3.jpg?w=468&h=624
http://www.archello.com/sites/default/
files/imagecache/media_image/story/
media/1074_puert_phot_06.jpg
http://www.hasenkopf.de/typo3temp/GB/
Hasenkopf_PW_Referenzen_ZIsland_01-
da2b8fa0c3.jpg
Image done by author
Image done by author
185
186
187
“…I really do believe that technology needs to be approached as a medium; not as a science, not as a technology in and of itself; but it is a design medium”Greg Lynn
188
“…I really do believe that technology needs to be approached as a medium; not as a science, not as a technology in and of itself; but it is a design medium”Greg Lynn
189
MASTERPLAN
Design Development
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MASTERAN
Image 9.01
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...clean slateNeighborhoods disapear once a hurricane hits. There is no grid, just a clean slate.
In order to place my modules accordingly, I created a master plan that will bring back
order to the site. My master plan wil not only give a guideline to where to place the
modules, but it is also designed to create a sense of community for the victims.
Design DevelopmentImage 9.02
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Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
...clean slate
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CASE STUDY Military Base Layout
Design Development
Image 9.03
Image 9.04
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Community
Circulation
Dwelling Units
If you look typical refugee camps, all you see is rows
of trailers or tents. There is no sense of community
or hope in these camps. I believe it is important to
encourage the victims to gather and help each other
in order to move forward from the tragic event.
I began to study military camps and how they are laid
out. At first glance you see several blocks next to each
other. One the blocks is the community resource
center where they eat, get health care services,
laundry and other resources.
At you look closer to the blocks, you see clusters
of sleeping units with a share bathroom and play
area in the middle. This middle space becomes the
community space for the soldiers living in this block.
195 Design Development
MASTER PLAN Concept
Community
Circulation
Dwelling BlocksImage 9.05
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Image 9.06
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MASTER PLAN Diagrams
Design Development
Community
Dwelling Blocks
Breaking the grid
Typical military grid + Concept
New grid
Typical military grid
Community nodes
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Community Diagram
One diamond holds17 module units
Community
Circulation
Dwelling Units
SUPPLY CENTERHEALTH
LAUNDRY
Neighborhood Personal
Community Pavilion
Community Cooking
Image 9.11
Image 9.12
199 Design Development
MASTER PLAN
Image 9.13
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When a hurricane hits, one can not predict the amount
of damage that is going to leave behind, nor the space
I would have to place my modules. It is important that
the grid is flexible and able to adjust depending on the
site conditions.
The master plan is derived from a tessellation pattern
so it has the flexibility to adjust depending on the
site. Within the pattern, I was able to create atypical
grid that will allow the victims to move around freely
between the modules and community spaces.
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PERSPECTIVE Community Cooking
Design DevelopmentImage 9.14
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FLOORPLANS
Design Development
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OORANS
Image 9.15
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Community
Circulation
Dwelling Units
Dwelling units
FLOOR PLAN Concept
Dwelling units will become the guideline for the floor plans
Image 9.16
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units will become the
Image 9.17
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FLOOR PLAN Dwelling Unit 1
Design Development
- Houses 1-2 people- 3 Modules- 328 sqft
11
23
4
5
6
FIRST FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
FIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOOR
0 2’ 4’ 8’
1
23
4
5
6
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MODULE 1(core)
MODULE 2
MODULE 3
LEGEND1. Cleaning2. Cooking3. Eating4. Living5. Sleeping6. Storage
Image 9.19
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FLOOR PLAN Dwelling Unit 2- Houses 3-4 people- 3 Modules- 355 sqft
1
23
4
5
5
6
7
FIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOOR
0 2’ 4’ 8’
Design Development
1
23
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5
5
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7
Image 9.20
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LEGEND1. Cleaning2. Cooking3. Eating4. Living5. Sleeping6. Working7. Storage
MODULE 1(core)
MODULE 4
MODULE 5
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FLOOR PLAN Dwelling Unit 3- Houses 5-6 people- 4 Modules- 477 sqft
Design Development
FIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOORFIRST FLOOR
0 2’ 4’ 8’
SECOND FLOOR
1
2
345
5
5
6
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7
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LEGEND1. Cleaning2. Cooking3. Eating4. Living5. Sleeping6. Working7. Storage
MODULE 1(core)MODULE 5
MODULE 4
MODULE 3
Image 9.23
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FORM EXPLORATION
Design Development
Dwelling Unit 1
Dwelling Unit 2
Dwelling Unit 3 Image 9.24
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Image 9.25
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MODULE FUNCTIONS Details
Design Development
aerodynamics x ventilationopenings on the walls of the skin
will promote air movement and
natural ventilation
rain water collection x water reservoirrain water will be collected through the
openings on the roof and will be directed
down to the reservoir
thin film solar cells x energy storagethe thin film solar cells are used to collect
and store power for the modules to work off
grid
Dwelling Unit 1
Dwelling Unit 2
Dwelling Unit 3
Image 9.26
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flood base unitthis plug in is a buoyant surface that will allow the dwellings to float during flooding. at the
same time it will house the water and electric systems. the base will reshape according to
the dwelling unit.
solar energyenergy gets collected from the
solar cells and transfer to a
battery where it converts to
electric power
grey water tankwater gets filtered and
recycled to be used again
in sink, shower, and toilet
dump valveconnection to the
dump trunk
black water tankwater from the toilet
will be stored here until
a waste truck empties
the tank
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PERSPECTIVE Interior
Design DevelopmentImage 9.28
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CROSS SECTION Details
Dwelling Unit 1
panelsolar storageand integrated energy inverter
welded pipe
water reservoiropening for cross ventilation
grey water tank
2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
02 ’4 ’8 ’
Design DevelopmentImage 9.29
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glass panel
opening for rain water collection system
black water tank
plywood construction structure
2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
2’
4’
6’
8’
10’
14’
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CROSS SECTION Details
Design Development
Dwelling Unit 2
02 ’4 ’8 ’
2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
opening for rain water collection systemglass panel
panelsolar storageand integrated energy inverter
water reservoir
Image 9.30
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2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
2’
4’
6’
8’
14’
plywood construction structure
black water tank
grey water tank
welded pipe structure
opening for cross ventilation
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CROSS SECTION Details
Dwelling Unit 3
02 ’4 ’8 ’
2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
panelsolar storageand integrated energy inverter
water reservoir opening for rain water collection systemglass panel
Design DevelopmentImage 9.31
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2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’ 2’
2’
4’
6’
8’
10’
14’
opening for cross ventilation
plywood construction structure
welded pipe structure
black water tank
grey water tank
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CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS Details
Design Development
CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS CONSTRUCTION SYSTEMS
Design Development
exterior fiber-glassexterior fiber-glasspanels
welded pipe structure
waffle structurewaffle structure
interior fiber-glass interior fiber-glass panel
convertional timberconvertional timberstructure for floorstructure for floorsystem
float baseunit
ZIP SYSTEM TAPE
advanced acrylic adhesive is made of highly po-lar molecules, meaning a magnetic-like attraction pulls the adhesive into ZIP System panels. this will be use to connent the modules together
STEP 1fasten panels
STEP 2tape seams
STEP 3tape corners
Image 9.32Image 9.33
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MODULE 3MODULE 3
sleeping spacesleeping space
MODULE 1MODULE 1
cleaning andcooking spacecooking space
MODULE 2
living and eatingspace
each module will be pre-frabricate off-site with interior each module will be pre-frabricate off-site with interior walls and furnishing. it will then be assemble once it walls and furnishing. it will then be assemble once it walls and furnishing. it will then be assemble once it arrives on site.
Image 9.34
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ECONOMIC TRANSPORTATION
Design DevelopmentImage 9.35
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229 Design Development
MODULE LIFECYCLE
Image 9.36
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PERSPECTIVE Master Plan
Design DevelopmentImage 9.37
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PERSPECTIVE Floating Modules
Design DevelopmentImage 9.38
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FINAL BOARDS
Design DevelopmentImage 9.39
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IMAGE NOTES9.01
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http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5087/532933
4252_37a630b2d3_z.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/
commons/4/42/Hurricane_katrina_
damage_gulfport_mississippi.jpg
http://www.interworks.eu/images/
Generic%20Camp%20Layout%20-%20
Long%20-%2010k%20-%206%20person%20
families.gif
http://www.interworks.eu/images/
Generic%20Block%20layout%20for%20
1250%20persons.gif
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5087/532933
4252_37a630b2d3_z.jpg
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5087/532933
4252_37a630b2d3_z.jpg
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IMAGE NOTES9.28
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At the initial onset of this thesis, it became evident
that there is a lack of suitable planning for post-
disasters. Many of the current shelters have not
proven to be efficient solution for housing hurricane
victims. Yet in the architecture world, we do not fully
engage the advancements of technology to design a
better shelter.
After investigating several books, I became intrigued
with the relationship of digital fabrication and
architecture. Digital fabrication has been strong
influences in many industries like product design
and furniture design for several decades. However,
this kind of design process is now slowly emerging in
the architecture world. Considering the use of digital
fabrication methods, it became clear to me that I
should focus my thesis into the relationship between
design and production.
In the beginning of my research, I was shocked at the
rapid increase of natural disasters per year. I realized I
don’t only need to design a better shelter, but it should
also be able to be fabricated quickly and transport it
easily. One of the case studies that explore the idea
of using digital fabrication as a relief effort for natural
disasters is “The Instant House” by Marcel Bortha
and Lawerence D. Sass from MIT’s Department of
Architecture. The project fallows the notion of mass
customization and fast assembly. This case study
became the initial spark of my design process.
However this project only used conventional materials.
I quickly realized if I wanted my shelter to be efficient,
lightweight and strong enough to resist future
hurricanes, I needed to explore other material options.
In the Current Disaster Recovery chapter, I researched
the most well-known rescue organizations like FEMA
and found many flaws not only within the organization,
but the shelters that they provide to the victims. In one
of the articles that I wrote talks about FEMA refusing to
send trailers to Hurricane Sandy victims because the
shelters would fail on flooded land. As I looked closer
to FEMA and other organizations, I quickly realized
what current shelters were lacking on. As I kept
discovering more flaws, my concept began to develop.
By the end of the chapter I had a clear objective on
what I want my shelter to achieve. I translated these
objectives into three different scenarios: Flooding,
Uneven Ground, and Winds. At the end of my thesis,
I want my shelter to be able to adapt to these three
scenarios.
As the project progressed forward, I was able to achieve
the three scenarios along with sustainable functions
of generations their own power and water. At the end
of my thesis I did not only accomplished all the goals
I set in the beginning of my thesis, but I also redesign
the notion of an emergency shelter. Even though my
design is set for a more futuristic motion, I believe it
addresses a better solution for disaster recovery and
set a new standards for emergency shelters.
Thesis Conclusion
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