Shelter Design - Engineering Ministries International

Shelter Requirements
in a Disaster Response
Course # CH1DR1
Presented by Henry Watts, PE
Engineering Ministries International
AIA/CES Provider #G495
Engineering Ministries International is a Registered Provider with The
American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Systems. Credit
earned on completion of this program will be reported to CES Records
for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for non-AIA members are
available on request.
This program is registered with the AIA/CES for continuing
professional education. As such, it does not include content that may
be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA
of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling,
using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product. Questions
related to specific materials, methods, and services will be addressed
at the conclusion of this presentation.
Learning Objectives
• Introduction to Shelters in Disaster Relief
Situations
• The need for Architects and Engineers to be
involved in the early response to disasters
• Explanation and Exploration of the Sphere
Standards – Minimum Standards in Shelter and
Settlement
Developing World Disasters
This presentation looks at shelters in a
disaster from the perspective of the
developing world. When Katrina hit, we
looked to the US Government and FEMA to
provide shelter. In the developing world,
there is no FEMA.
Current Concepts in Shelters
The Classic Tent
What are the Options?
• Host Families
• Rural Self-Settlement/Urban SelfSettlement
• Collective Centers
• Self-Settlement Camp
• Planned Camp
This graph was prepared by the Sheltre Center, Geneva, Switzerland
Pakistan Relief Shelter – built by MRDS
Tent City in El Salvador
Metal Framed – Tarp Clad
concept house
Super Adobe Homes – Southern Iraq
Photo by Reuters/Finbar O’Reilly
Photo by AFP/Salah Omar
Settlements in Darfur, Sudan
eMi Designed Housing for Hurricane Stan Relief –
Guatemala
Concrete Canvas Concept House
(house in a bag)
Why do we need Architects and
Engineers involved?
• Impacts of Early Decisions
• Providing Tools to Build Back Better
• What steps can we take?
From Rick Hill, CHF International
Elements to Consider in Siting and
Designing a Settlement
• Community – Who is the community how
does the community function?
• Water and Wastewater - What are the
advantages of the site?
• Hazard Analysis – What caused the
disaster and is the new site prone to the
same or new hazards?
Providing Tools to Build Back Better
• “Few tools exist to support communities to
‘build back better’” – Dr. Tom Corsillis, Codirector of the Sheltre Center
• The tragic result is that communities often
build back worse
Pakistan Home Construction
Improvements for Earthquake Resistance
Pakistan Home Construction
Improvements for Earthquake Resistance
Keys to Success
• Know the Culture/Client
• Understand the Building Material, Construction
Techniques
• Understand and Design to the Sphere Standards
• Know the Funding Mechanisms
As a design consultant – you have been trained to do this!
Most major settlement and shelter decisions are
made by country directors and heads of mission,
not by technical specialists.
What is wrong with Pre-Fabs?
• “Pre-fabs are often imported into a disaster area from another
country -- and the money needed … goes in the opposite
direction. The local/regional economy affected by a disaster is
robbed of important capital that could circulate within that economy,
thereby aiding in the overall resurgence of that economy.”
• “Use of pre-fab units negates an extremely important function of
shelter: the need for family, community, social, and cultural
expression.”
• “When they are introduced into a disaster area, pre-fabs have the
effect of undermining the shelter sector standard of output,
which can lead to significant and time-consuming discussions
among donors and NGOs even before the ‘have-have not’ effects of
differential output reach the community level.
Quotes from “PRE-FAB” SHELTER: SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER
by Charles A. Setchell, USAID/OFDA
Just like every design project is different,
every disaster is different – different climates,
different materials, different people.
We need the professional design community
to step up in disaster response to provide
quality design solutions to the need for
shelter.
The Sphere Standards
The information in the next section is taken from
“The Sphere Project: Humanitarian Charter and
Minimum Standards in Disaster Response, 2004
Edition”
This information is copyright 2004 by The Sphere Project.
The Sphere Project
Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in
Disaster Response
• www.sphereproject.org
• Goal: ‘To improve the quality of
assistance provided to people
affected by disasters, and improve
the accountability of states and
humanitarian agencies to their
constituents, their donors and their
beneficiaries’
The Sphere Project
• Overall handbook
structure
Sphere Vocabulary
• Minimum standards: subjective, general
statement that state the minimum level for
a given area
• Key Indicators: a more specific, often
objective level used to provide guidance in
meeting the Standard
• Guidance Notes: additional information-advice on priority issues, common
dilemmas, etc.
Why do we need to know the Sphere
Standards?
• International Community has recognized the
standards as a minimum baseline for
humanitarian response.
• If the organizations we work with desire
USAID/OFDA funding, we will need to reference
the sphere standards in our application.
Shelter Standard 1: Strategic Planning
Standard: Existing shelter and settlement solutions
are prioritized through the return or hosting of
disaster-affected households, and the security,
health, safety and well-being of the affected
population are ensured.
Shelter Standard 1: Strategic Planning
Key Indicators:
Priority is given to settlements in the following order –
site of original dwellings, host community or host
family, mass shelters/camps.
Risk Assessment – risk from both physical security
and natural or man-made hazards is minimized
Property Ownership or Land-Use Permission has
been obtained before a camp is settled
Water/Sanitation and Social Services are available or
can be made available
Transportation Infrastructure
Access to household livelihoods is available
(markets, land, etc.)
This graph was prepared by the Sheltre Center, Geneva, Switzerland
Shelter Standard 2: Physical Planning
• Standard: Local physical planning practices are
used where possible, enabling safe and secure
access to and use of shelters and essential
services and facilities, as well as ensuring
appropriate privacy and separation between
individual household shelters.
Shelter Standard 2: Physical Planning
Key Indicators:
Space Planning takes into account the culture so that
the camps are in sizes that can be self-managed
Access to water, sanitation, solid waste disposal, and
social facilities
Self-settled camps are based on a minimum surface
area of 45m2 per person. (This area includes
household plots, paths, roads, social facilities,
sanitation, administration, etc.)
Roads and Pathways allow access and emergency
evacuation while maintaining security
Vector risks are minimized
What does
45 m2 per person
mean?
1 acre (210’ by 210’) is 4050 m2. Therefore, each
acre could hold approximately 90 people.
What are Vector Risks?
Vectors risks are diseases that
are associated with insects and
other types of pests. Mostly
avoided by limiting
standing/stagnant water.
Most vulnerable are pregnant or nursing mothers, infants
and young children, the elderly, and those already
weakened by other sickness or malnutrition.
Shelter Standard 3: Covered Living Space
• Standard: People have sufficient covered space
to provide dignified accommodation. Essential
household activities can be satisfactorily
undertaken, and livelihood support activities can
be pursued as required.
Shelter Standard 3: Covered Living Space
Key Indicators:
The homes have a minimum of 3.5m2 covered area
per person.
The home allows for safe separation/privacy for
males and females and different age groups.
There is enough space for essential household
activities
Livelihood support activities are accomodated when
possible
What does 3.5 m2 per
person mean?
A 1000 ft.2 house (approximately 93 m2) could house
26 people! It is critical to know the average family
size, types of activities in the house, and cultural
implications of different designs in order to be
effective.
A family of 6 requires a 15ft x
15ft (4.6m x 4.6m) shelter
Shelter Standard 4: Design
• Standard: The design of the shelter is
acceptable to the affected population and
provides sufficient thermal comfort, fresh air and
protection from the climate to ensure their
dignity, health, safety and well-being.
Shelter Standard 4: Design
Key Indicators:
Design is familiar and culturally and socially
acceptable
Repair of damaged structures or upgrading of initial
shelters (emergency shelters) is prioritized
If familiar/traditional materials are not to be used,
alternative materials are accepted by local population
and durable and practical
Windows/Openings allow for venting and thermal
comfort
Access to water/sanitation is considered in the design
Health risks are considered (including vector control
and material choices)
Transitional Shelters
“Repair of damaged structures or upgrading of initial
shelters (emergency shelters) is prioritized”
Oxfam transitional shelter design in Tangalle, Sri Lanka
• Something between a tent
and a permanent home
• Foundations/Slabs are
placed with temporary
structures on top. The slab
can be re-used with a
permanent structure
• Other materials are used in a
temporary fashion, but can
be re-used in a permanent
structure
Shelter Standard 5: Construction
• Standard: The construction approach is in
accordance with safe local building practices
and maximizes local livelihood opportunities.
Shelter Standard 5: Construction
Key Indicators:
Local material and labor are used to the benefit of the
local economy and environment
Local standards are used in workmanship and
materials
New or Repaired Buildings are designed to resist
future natural hazards
Construction allows for easy maintenance of the
finished building as well as the possibility of additions
or upgrades using local labor and materials
The financial side of the construction is ethical,
transparent, and accountable
“Local material and labor are used to the
benefit of the local economy and environment”
Re-call the “what’s wrong with Pre-Fabs” slide
Using local materials and labor add money back into the
economy at a time when it is critical to keep the economy
going.
Shelter Standard 6: Environmental Impact
• Standard: The adverse impact on the
environment is minimized by the settling of the
disaster-affected households, the material
sourcing and construction techniques used.
Shelter Standard 6: Environmental Impact
Key Indicators:
Settlement Camps consider the natural resources
available for the population
The natural resources are managed to meet short
term and long term needs
Vegetation is protected where possible
If a settlement camp is abandoned, the land is
restored to previous state unless otherwise agreed
Case Studies
• Balakot Earthquake – Build Back Better
Ideas in Poonch, India
• Hurricane Stan – Permanent Housing in
rural Guatemala
Balakot Earthquake
• Location: Poonch, Kashmir
• Scope: Assess structural
damage and propose simple
reconstruction techniques for
mud/stone and masonry
buildings
• Client: Millennium Relief &
Development (Frontiers)
• Timeline: ~6 weeks after 2005
Pakistan earthquake
Balakot Earthquake,
Pakistan
Lessons Learned
• Good job of having biggest impact (creating design
guides as opposed to helping only a handful of
home/business owners)
• Cultural Understanding played a key role in the
success of the team
– Ability to interact with local leaders
– Ability to get design ideas to the masses
– Use of “build back better” diagram as an evangelical tool
(including the correct word for the “One God” in Urdu)
Hurricane Stan
• House Design for Rural Guatemala
• Training of locals in a new home
construction technology
Lessons Learned
• Coordinated with local design professionals
– originally had a shed roof which the locals
said should be changed to gable. Also the
design was modified in some places to
match local customs and superstitions.
• Design was modified – steel studs with
insulation to panelized system to
reinforced/confined masonry
Lessons Learned – New Building
Technology Comments
• The new technology was used in order to
lower costs and speed up construction
• New technology can work well when you can
control the construction
• Local fears must be overcome or they will
likely ridicule or sabotage the build
Lessons Learned – New Building
Technology Comments (cont’d)
• The original design with steel studs was very easy
for North American teams, but had too many pieces
and parts for locals to quickly understand
• The panelized system was better for locals, but had
limited availability outside of major urban areas
• Local materials/technologies made it easy to use
local labor (and delegate work), as well as easier to
involve the community
Lessons Learned – Final Quotes
• “I have learned the ‘best’ engineered design is not
always the ‘best’ design for the community”
• “Many in Guatemala did not accept the USAID
shelter because it was temporary and they thought if
they accepted it they would never get the permanent
house the Government promised – which for most
never came anyway.”
Any Questions?
This concludes the American Institute of Architects Continuing Education
Systems Program.