The Neighborhood: Refugee Housing for the 21st Century: Concept   

 

A decade into the 21st Century and we as a global interconnected human civilization 

stand on the brink of disaster. We have strained our resources and pushed the limits of this 

planet’s atmospheric capacity to the edge, creating climate fluxes unprecedented in human 

history. In addition, growing overpopulation is leading to climbing rates of social conflicts 

around the globe. Coupled together these phenomena result in hundreds of thousands of 

people displaced from their homes, given to vagrant wandering, hungry and isolated. In order 

to meet the impending global influx of refugees, I have come up with a system of prefabricated 

interlocking shelters. These shelters will not be limited to disaster zones and refugee camps, 

but can be expanded to fit the needs of slum and shanty town dwellers from South‐East Asia to 

South America.  

  I kept four main principles in mind when designing these housing units: Utility, Energy 

Efficiency, Community, and Moral. Each one of these words encompasses a broader concept 

which helped guide me through every step of the design process. Early on in the conceptual 

design stage I realized that the needs of a slum dweller in Mumbai, and a Katrina survivor in 

Louisiana (though having in common certain basic necessities), are very different. That is why 

the overall design goal was to give the occupants of these housing units the ability to customize 

their own environment and tailor it to their own unique requirements.  

  One of the main reasons situations where thousands of people are drawn together by 

misfortune are so tense is that there is a large number of people with nothing to do. So to 

address this problem; instead of bringing in crews of outside contractors to assemble refugee 

shelters, I propose that these idle people be put to work building their own houses. That is the 

reason why these shelters are made of a prefabricated and an easy‐to‐assemble set of parts. 

Idling masses will be able to construct their own living environments and this will give them a 

sense of ownership and belonging in a situation where they have lost everything, or never 

owned anything at all. 

  The sleeping unit is designed to hold a family of four, but flexibility of space and 

furniture allows for additional sleeping space if need be. Four sleeping units are attached to a 

single living unit which includes 2 private bathrooms, a kitchen, a reading loft, and flexible 

furniture. The furniture is designed to accommodate everything from large multifamily dinners 

to work and relaxation.  The living units can link together to tailor to the specific needs of the 

communities which occupy the shelters. There is the possibility to create neighborhoods with 

plazas, squares, enclosures, etc. Since the occupants better understand their own needs, the 

idea is that the people will become their own city planners.  

  Another issue I made imperative as I designed these shelters was the need to be energy 

independent. Each living unit is equipped with a solar panel, and all the living units have green 

roofs. Also large windows provide natural light and ventilation throughout the living and 

sleeping areas. My goal is to keep heating and cooling costs to a minimum, lower the cost of 

lighting the space, and maybe get a viable agricultural output a few years into the building’s 

deployment. 

For many key parameters, the climate system is already moving beyond the patterns of natural variability within which our society and economy have developed and thrived. Recent observations show that societies are highly vulnerable to even modest levels of climate change, with poor nations and communities particularly at risk. An effective, well-funded adaptation safety net is required for those people least capable of coping with climate change impacts, and a common but differentiated mitigation strategy is needed to protect the poor and most vulnerable.

- Copenhagen Climate Change Summit 2009

COMMUNITY

ENERGY EFICIENCY

UTILITY

HEALTH & MORAL

Efficient transportation, quick assembly, and easy-to-use furniture and amenities will make the deployment and use of these shelters trivially simple without sacrificing living standards.

These structures are designed to require little to no input from external energy sources.

Understanding that a basic human instinct is the need for community and a sense of belonging, these shelters can be arranged in a plethora of configurations highlighting exterior as well as interior gathering spaces.

Carefully selected elements and colors are designed to alleviate the stresses and tensions that come with living in extremely close quarters and abhorrent conditions such as are found in refugee camps and slums around the world.

Floor to ceiling windows allow occupants to enjoy natural lighting for the majority of the day.

BED

ROO

M U

NIT

Compartmentalized sleeping quarters allow for a degree of privacy within the confines of a small space.

Bedroom furniture is flexible and able to accommodate the day to day needs of the occupants.

Manufactured with a pre-fabricated set of parts for easy transport, easy assembly, and easy transformation.

Living unit designed to fold in on itself for easy transport.

LIV

ING

UN

IT

Versatile furniture in the living unit adapts to varying social as well as practical situations.

Rotating kitchen inspired by Original Circle Designes occupies a relatively small space but includes everything one would need undertake any cooking task.

Half-height second floor serves as a go between from the living unit to the roof garden, and can be used for many different purposes such as reading and relaxing as well as ventilation.

Doors fold as well as lift on both sides allowing for a myriad of configurations depending on the weather, occasion, and personal preference.

Green roofs and PV panels allow the structure to harvest the energy of the sun in the form of physical sustenance as well as raw electricity.

Pastel color scheme chosen to calm the tense atmosphere that is common when thousands of people live in close quarters.

CONNECTIONOT O

Four bedroom units connect to one living unit and can be configured into different positions depending on the needs of the occupants, terrain, orientation of the sun, etc.

These emergency housing units will allow thousands of people to live in close proximity yet relative comfort while keeping them more or less energy independent, aiding the global humanitarian effort which we must undertake in the coming years to avert suffering by millions of people around the world.

The units can be configured in a plethora of different patterns and are able to adapt perfectly to many different disaster situations.