Communities affected by climate impacts, political or cultural conflicts and rapid demographic shifts are the most vulnerable to the effects of poverty, disease and communal violence. Addressing their needs through appropriate architectural responses can help them to recover social, economic and environmental well-being.
This thesis defines strategies to address the challenges involved in the design of spaces after three causes of forced migration: natural disaster, conflict and urban development. The methodology is based on literature review which served as theoretical background to work in three design competitions related to shelter after natural disasters, refugee camps and slums.
The need to provide accommodation after a natural disaster is essential. Therefore, a shelter that can be transported and deployed quickly and effectively, and that contemplates the uniqueness and complexity of the event, is studied in this thesis.
Refugee camps have become the protective and safe place that provide shelter, food and health safety to all kinds of survivors and refugees. Due to the complexity of the problems related to this forced migration situation, the presence of refugee camps tends to be longer than the expected. Therefore, a design that contemplates this duality of time and that addresses peoples' needs and rights is part of this research.
Slums are often related to deprivation and socio-spatial exclusion and due to the lack of security of tenure, they are vulnerable to evictions caused by redevelopment pressures, gentrification processes and episodes of ethnic cleansing. Therefore, a neighborhood's transformation with cohesive public spaces and incremental housing prototypes is proposed in this thesis.
Through the study of architectural responses to natural disaster, refugee camps and slums design considerations related to the site, the culture and the urban context are established as guidelines. In addition, a time-based design strategy, a dual design approach and a multiple scales design strategy are defined as essential to give an architectural response to forced-displaced communities. / Master of Architecture / Devastating effects of natural disaster, political conflicts and demographic changes are experienced everyday worldwide. People who have faced them long for protection, safety and peace to have the strength to start again. Therefore, this thesis proposes some possible architectural solutions for situations where entire populations have lost their homes or have been displaced.
Temporary shelters provided after a natural disaster was the first theme studied. The research was complemented with the design of a shelter for a rural community in Ecuador which was devastated by the 2016 earthquake. Research and design demonstrated the need to design a structure aligned with the features of its context and that could be easily and quickly transported and deployed.
Thousands of people are forced to flee every day due to political and social conflicts. The second design that was part of this thesis was for Mosul, one of the cities that had been destroyed due to the conflicts in Iraq. The aim was to provide shelter for people that want to return to this city during its reconstruction. Through the design and research, it was defined that it is important to integrate the temporary camps in the reconstruction plan of the city to obtain a more appropriate approach towards the refugees’ needs and values.
Neighborhoods wrongly categorized as slums are exposed to human displacement due to real state pressures, urban interventions and social reforms. The third and last project that was part of this thesis looked for a response to this problem in a neighborhood in Mumbai. Several projects were reviewed and diverse sources were consulted leading to the conclusion that public space should work in these neighborhoods as the meeting point of different groups of people and activities. In addition, it was established that affordable housing solutions should respond to economic situation of the dwellers and their future needs.
The importance of understanding the site, the culture and the context of every scenario was established essential to formulate an accurate solution for people that seek shelter after a natural disaster, armed conflict or eviction. In addition, considering different design scales and providing spaces with diverse uses and with the possibility to change through time was defined important to develop these projects.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/83488 |
| Date | 07 June 2018 |
| Creators | Pacheco Aviles, Damiana Isabel |
| Contributors | Architecture, Bassett, James, Tomer, Sharone, Zhang, Yang |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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