Proposed Shelter Village Design: Part 2

       Through campground design research, it was discovered that there should be an office building at the entrance of the shelter village.  The shelter office design includes two main things: a twelve car parking lot and an office building.  The village office houses a number of purposes and activities including: the files of the inhabitants, an office for the village’s manager, a lounge for the inhabitants and a conference room (for meetings between the inhabitants and the village manager). 

Shelter Village's Office and Parking Area

Office Building's Office Area

      

      The colors that are used in the interior and exterior of the village's office building were chosen based on the colors that are used within the shelters that were designed for the four climatic zones in the United States (hot-arid, hot-humid, temperate, and cold).  The exterior structures used throughout the village and the temporary shelter symbolize one of two thing, either an entrance or a exterior gathering area. 

 

Shelter Office's South Elevation

Shelter Office's East Elevation

        A number of elements were used to help tie the office building, multipurpose building, courtyard areas, and the shelter together to create a uniform look within the shelter village.  The first element is the wooden glue-lam structure that encloses and helps represent a building’s entrance, a building’s outdoor space, or one of the village’s five public courtyard.  The second element was to use similar kinds of materials and an aesthetic look that can be represented in all aspects within the village.  The last element is the location of the interior and exterior walls in the Multipurpose and Office Building.  The walls location was based on the dimensions of the temporary shelter (16’ x 28’).   In addition to the 16’ and 28’ dimensions, the walls were also placed on their halves (8’ and14’).   

        The third problem is to provide enough amenities and recreational aspects to keep the inhabitants’ youth out of trouble, in the hopes to reverse the FEMA villages’ nickname “a cesspool for criminal behavior.”  These amenities and recreational spaces are divided into outdoor and indoor activities.  The outdoor activities, which are located in both village phases, include  five pubic courtyard areas, a walking and biking path, two basketball, sand volleyball, and tennis courts, a partly covered playground, Frisbee golf, and two open spaces (A).  The interior amenities are housed in the Multipurpose Building:  These activities include classrooms, a game room, a lounge, and multipurpose rooms.  The multipurpose room’s uses, depending if the village is in use, can include, catering events, community meetings, and/or high school graduations (B).

                         A: Exterior Amenities

The Shelter Village's Basketball and Tennis Area

        After a natural disaster, not only the shelter village, but the entire community of Granite City might lose transportation access to needed elements such as schooling, dinning areas, a laundry facility, and grocery stores.  Therefore, there is a need to locate all of these varying elements under one roof. To accomplish this, the proposed shelter village incorporated a Multipurpose Building within my shelter village design.  The locations of the interior and exterior walls within the Multipurpose Building were based on the dimensions of the temporary shelter (16’ x 28’).   In addition to the 16’ and 28’ dimensions, the walls were also placed on their halves (8’ and14’). 

      The multipurpose building contains areas that are needed if the shelter village is being used for during post-disaster events.  These uses would include: a dining hall, two classrooms, a laundry mat, and an on-site grocery store.  On the other hand, the shelter village will not be in use the majority of the time; therefore, the multipurpose building also can be used for not –disaster events, such as community meetings, plays and concerts, and catering events.  In addition, if the shelter village is not in use, the village will act as a park and recreation area for the surrounding community.

Multipurpose Building's Classrooms

Mulitpurpose Building's Multipurpose Room

Southeast View of the Multipurpose Building

Northeast View of the Mulitpurpose Building

        The first rendering is of the classroom space.  This space can be divided into two separate rooms, by using foldable walls, in needed.  I addition, the classroom space has their own entrance to give the children direct access to the playground.  The second rendering is of the multipurpose room, which can seat 190 individuals and has a stage for performances.  The third rendering shows the multipurpose room’s courtyard area.  The fourth rendering shows the rear entrance and the parking lots drop off area. 

South Elevation

East Elevation

        The above images show the site plan of the multipurpose building, as well as the surrounding areas.  The multipurpose building, like the village's office building, uses the same materials and colors that are found within the temporary shelter. The next blog will include the first part of my discussion on my thesis project and its positives, negatives, and what I want to correct in the near future.