SURVIVLA P8

Darius Dias _ 7612833EVDS 2500/2900Colin Herperger& Marc MainvilleUniversity of Manitoba, 2010/2011

Shelter |ˈ sh eltər |nouna place giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger; a shielded or safe condition; protection. establish |iˈstabli sh |

Community | kəˈmyoōnitē |noun a group of people living together in one place, esp. one practicing com-mon ownership; ( the community) the people of a district or country considered collectively, esp. in the context of social values and responsi-bilities; society; a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals

Disaster | diˈzastər |nouna sudden event, such as an accident or a natural catastrophe, that causes great damage or loss of life

Trauma is the drama in which both history and the future are at stake, held in a suspended crisis; the cards have been thrown up in the air but they have not yet landed. Trauma stages the point at which the system must re

imagine itself or perish. Adrian Lahoud, Charles Rice, and Anthony Burke, Post-Traumatic Urbanism: Architectural Design, 1st ed.

(Wiley, 2010) 19.

How do we live after a trauma of loss? How do we restructure our senses and needs within the unfamiliarity? How can we define ‘needs’ in the context of displacement and destruction? How and when do physical environments become relevant in such context? What kinds of physical apparatus will/can aid (and/or become meaningful) in restructuring the physical and psychological conditions? How can the restructuring be directed to something other than what it used to be, when the sense of loss is strongly present?

THE BRIEF.

How can architecture (shelter) (re)establish community in the post-traumatic condition following the dislocation of migrant construction workers in China?What is community? And how does it’s definition and manifestation differ around the world and why?

What happens to community after the trauma of dislocation from home, family, and friends? How, and in what specific ways is community related to survival and/or revival of said community or the establish-ment of a new one?

The aspect of community is very interesting to me. It is the factor which spurned civilization as we know it, and still remains the center from which all life/activities spread from. I am especially intrigued by the differences and variations in community around the world, especially between developed vs. develop-ing nations. Throw in the catalyst of the trauma due to dislocation, and the dynamics and manifestations of community are greatly affected. Especially in countries such as China, experiencing massive growth and change, the trauma of dislocation experienced by workers at construction projects the nation over is very prevalent. I am intrigued how the disruption/absence of community can be rectified through architecture. Because of the importance community plays in everyday life, the increased significance in times of trauma is obvious. So it makes sense, that a re-establishing of community and ‘localizing’ of the victims, is indispensable when surviving the trauma brought on by dislocation.

QUESTION.

38° 45’ 0 N, 109° 9’ 59 E

Kangbashi District, Ordos City,

Inner Mongolia, ChinaOne area of China experiencing exponential growth and construction is Ordos. It is an in-teresting site; an urban ghost-town the likes of which are becoming increasingly more com-mon throughout China. Ordos proper has 1.5 million residents. But the tomorrow land ver-sion of Ordos (Kangbashi District) -- built from scratch on a huge plot of empty land 15 miles south of the old city -- is all but deserted.Broad boulevards are unimpeded by traffic in the new district. Office buildings stand vacant. Pedestrians are in short supply. And weeds are beginning to sprout up in luxury villa develop-ments that are devoid of residents.Throughout China, construction worker hous-ing is an afterthought. Shanty towns made out of bamboo spars and tarps sprout out from construction sites, and once construction is completed the temporary settlement is torn down and moved to the next job site. The site at Ordos, brings forward the added questions of how the temporary construction workers shel-ters can be better designed and implemented, and furthermore, how can they start to become a permanent part of the finished project. In the case of Ordos, where community has yet to ar-rive, how can the shelter for dislocation also develop and evolve to start a permanent com-munity as well.

STRUCTURE.

STRUCTURE+CORRESPOND

Photos Courtesy of Alex MacLean

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CONCLUSION.

Establishing a community of construction workers,congruently with a construction project has important implications beyond the immediate services of tempo-rary shelter for the workers. While this is a primary con-scern, by thinking and designing proactivily, a tempo-rary workers camp or community, can be implemented with the forsight and intention, so that the community that arises becomes a permanent settlement.