Step One When Designing a Temporary Shelter

               When designing a post-disaster temporary shelter that houses people, for a small period of time, it is imperative that the designer consider various domicile interactions that can occur within that structure.  In addition, the designer must consider how the possible users will view and interact within the space.  These areas include: what makes a home, thermal comfort zones, and personal distance comfort zones.

What makes a “Home”

When designing a temporary shelter, a number of aspects need to be examined.  Due to the fact that the human body is not universal, human comfort, including concepts such as spatial relationships, temperature zoning, and, cultural aspects, needs to be analyzed before designing a shelter.  Therefore, past shelters, the failures and successes, need to be researched to develop the best shelter in response to creating a home-like atmosphere that promotes well-being to the inhabitant on their transition from a temporary shelter to permanent housing. 

It is mandatory, when designing any form of domicile structure, to create a comfortable place to call home, as well as a place that promotes well-being.  To do this, we first need to define what makes a “home,” and what is considered “well-being.”  As defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a “home” is an environment that provides security and well-being, as well as a place where one’s affections are centered (Home, n.d.).  In addition, well-being is a satisfactory condition of existence that is characterized by health, happiness, and prosperity (Well-being, n.d.).  In the events following a hurricane, well-being would have a slightly different meaning, due to the change in situation.  Well-being would then mean being alive and gaining shelter from the elements.

 Image 1 - Home is where the HEART is

Humans and their Comfort Zone

Due to the human body not being universal, people in different locations view comfort temperature zones differently.  As described by Victor Olgyay, “the shelter is the main instrument for fulfilling the requirement of comfort” (Olgyay, 1973, p. 15).  According to Roberto Barrios, an anthropologist at SIUC, the human body is not universal; therefore, the comfort level depends on the person, their location, and the society they belong to (Barrios, n.d.).  In an environment, there are four elements that can affect ones human comfort: relative humidity, radiation, air movement, and air temperature. 

Using the effective temperature scale, American scientists Yagloa and Dinker, discovered that the temperature comfort zone for the United States is between 63 -75 degree Fahrenheit.  In addition, they also discovered that the relative humidity comfort zone is between 30 and 70%.  However, scientists from the British Department of Scientific and Industrial Research shifted their temperature zone to fit their location.  Dr. T. Bedford believes the British comfort zone is between 56 and 74 degrees Fahrenheit.  To contradict Bedford, C.E.D. Brooks located the British comfort zone between 58 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  However, Brooks concluded the United States comfort zone lies between 69 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  On the other hand, in tropic areas, the comfort zone is located between 74 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.  In addition, author Victor Olgyay discovered that age plays a role in thermal comfort.  Men and women over 40 years of age prefer an increase of one degree Fahrenheit to those of younger ages (Olgyay, 1973).

Image 2 - Table of winter and summer human comfor zones

Anthropologist, Edward Hall has studied personal distance zones.  The following came after an interaction Hall encountered after a lecture:

[A member of the audience] came to the front of the class at the end of the lecture.  We started out facing each other, and as he talked I became dimly aware that he was standing a little too close and that I was beginning to back up.  By experimenting I was able to observe that as I moved away slightly, there was an associated shift in the pattern of [our] interaction (Henslin, 2003, p. 97).

              Through his studies and interactions, Hall has concluded that within the United States, there are four personal zones: intimate, personal, social, and public.  Intimate zones, extending 18 inches from our bodies, are reserved for activities such as protecting and comforting.  Personal zones, extending 18 inches to 4 feet, are reserved for ordinary conversation.  Social zones, extending 4 to 12 feet, are reserved for impersonal relationships.  However, public zones, extending beyond 12 feet, are reserved for formal relationships (Henslin, 2003).  In addition, after doing a pilot study on the sizes of displaced families living within FEMA trailers, out of fifty families, 22 consisted of 1-2 people, 19 consisted of 3-4 people, and 9 consisted of 5 or more people.  Therefore, there is a need to design a expandable shelter to fulfill the needs of various family sizes (A Study of the Family, n.d.).  In the case of a shelter atmosphere, a personal zone would need to be used to provide enough interior space to provide a sense of privacy.

Image 3 - Depiction of distances for social interaction types

              The next blog will include the design considerations, criteria, and requirements when creating a post-disaster temporary shelter, due to the MobARCH research project and the JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency).

Text
    The Study of the Family Sizes Living Within a FEMA Trailer. Pilot Study. September 18, 2010.
    Barrios, R. Personal Communication.September 13, 2010.
    Henslin, J. (2003). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, Fifth Edition. New York:Allyn Bacon.
    Home. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/home.
    Olgyay, V. (1973). Design with Climate: Bioclimatic Approach to Architectural Regionalism. New York: Princeton
            University Press.
    Well-being. (n.d.). Retrieved September 12, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/well-being.

Images
    Image 1 - http://oels.byu.edu/student/idioms/proverbs/image/home.jpg
    Image 2 - http://talbottradiant.com/images/RadConEvap5.jpg
    Image 3 - http://jumpingthroughpuddles.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/20070403_personal_space_
                          comfort_zones.png

The FEMA Trailer: A Suitable Sheltering Option?

           The most widely used temporary sheltering option used within the United States is the trailers that are provided by FEMA.  These 150 square foot trailers began to be used in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August or 2005.  Due the United States lack of preparedness in natural disaster situations, they purchased hundreds of thousands of mobile trailers for the displaced individuals of the Southeast.  Once these trailers were used and returned to FEMA, due to their lack in construction quality, were stored and sold for pennies on the dollar.  The following blog is the information I gathered from users of the FEMA trailers.
 

Image 1: A FEMA trailer outside of a ravaged house 

 

In a video entitled “FEMA Trailer Worker Speaks OUT,” CBS investigative correspondent, Armen Keteyran, interviewed former FEMA trailer inspector, Lynda Esperza, on the pressure to produce these trailers.  She described that the pressure to get the trailers out the door caused ambulances to be required for pressure-related health issues.  The faster FEMA could ship the trailers, the faster they could shift the problem from them to quality control. 

She described an event that repeatedly occurred.  On the day the trailers were tested for formaldehyde, FEMA officials instructed Esperza and others, two hours before the inspection, to open the doors and windows to let the trailer air out.  By doing this, the trailers passed inspections.  In addition, once a problem occurred, quality control would repair the problem. However, they would not check to see if the problem was fixed, fixed correctly, or remained fixed.  Esperza also stated that FEMA started doing the right thing, for the right reasons, using the right procedures, but a few months later, due to the growing urgency, the goal shifted to be focused on how much money could be produced for Gulf Stream.  In the end, FEMA and Gulf Stream made money off pressuring and demoralizing their workers, as well as putting the inhabitants’ health and well-being in danger (Keteyran, 2008).

 Image 2: A family playing outside of their temporary "home"

In a video by Lillyanna Wiley, she described the atmosphere inside her poorly made FEMA trailer.  During the tour, she revealed there was mold growing under her bed.  In addition, after staying in a trailer for two years, she would suggest that the maximum time an inhabitant would stay inside a FEMA trailer, comfortably, would be four to six months.  Therefore, from the perspective of a FEMA trailer inhabitant, the word “temporary” would mean lasting between four to six months (2 Years, n.d.).

 Image 3: An image of a FEMA trailer in a FEMA trailer park

In a video posted by Ray Bradley, he, his wife, and his two daughters explain their lives in a FEMA trailer, as well as some of their wants and needs.  During the video, he describes the lack of privacy, interior space, and storage.  He then asked both of his daughters what they wanted the most.  Oldest daughter Nasjae, due to sleeping on a foldout kitchen bed answered, “a room with a door and a little privacy.”  However, Daisjah answered, “all I want is a place to call home” (Bradley, 2007).

In a video posted by Greg Young, he described the time it took to receive his trailer, as well as the problems he faced while living in his FEMA trailer.  On the FEMA website, it states that once a person fills out the required paperwork, it would take a maximum of two months to receive a trailer.  However, in Young’s case, it took four months after filling the paperwork in June of 2006.  Once he received his trailer, he immediately realized the lack of storage, the lack of space to do laundry, and the need to use the same space for multiple things (Life in a, 2007).

 Image 4: A mother and daughter inside of their FEMA trailer

In an extensive interview, Lindsay Huckabee described the health problems her five children have experienced in their thirty months in a FEMA trailer.  In the thirty months, they have had three different trailers because the first two, when tested for formaldehyde, which both resulted in eight times the recommended levels.  Due to this, her children have experienced a laundry list of health complications including: daily nose bleeds, conjunctivitis of the eyes, asthma, migraines, and upper and lower respiratory problems.  Her seven year old daughter, Lela, has had three surgeries during the thirty months.  The surgeries included widening her sinus passages and having tubes put in her ears due to the inflammation, the formaldehyde caused, that blocked her hearing and air passages.  In addition, when Lindsay moved into the trailer, she was pregnant.  A few months later, she gave birth to a baby girl four weeks premature.  Doctors later revealed that her exposure to formaldehyde could have caused her premature pregnancy (Huckabee, 2008).

Image 5: A small child covering his face within a FEMA trailer park

            Before being able to design a successful shelter, it is imperative to discover what inhabitants thought during their stay within a FEMA trailer.  In 2006, the International Medical Corps (IMC) conducted a survey on thirty FEMA trailers in New Orleans.  Before they conducted the surveys, IMC discovered two important pieces of information: the average cost of a FEMA trailer is $70,000 and the trailers are only rated for winds up to 40 miles per hour.  Over an eight week period, their surveys were conducted to fifteen trailers on private property and fifteen trailers located in FEMA parks. 

These surveys gathered the users’ demographic background and the occupant assessment of the FEMA trailer.  The demographic background they discovered is as follows: an average age of 27.6 years, 12.8% of which were 65 years of age or older, an average occupant per trailer of 2.6 persons, 48% of the occupants were male, and the average length of post-Katrina occupancy was 4.1 months.  In terms of ethnicity, 75% were African Americans, 19% were Caucasian, and the remaining 6% were other. 

The occupant assessments were answered responding to a five-point scale, one being low and five being high.  During the surveys, the users answered fourteen categories of questions.  Areas that ranked the lowest, between 1.0 and 1.5, were personalization amenities, quality of construction, amount of storage space, ability to reconfigure furnishings, and the ability to control interior temperatures.  Areas that ranked in the middle, between 2.05 and 2.57, were interest in purchasing the trailer, ingress and egress, interior size of the trailer, and acoustical control.  The areas that ranked as the most problematic, between 3.44 and 3.59, were safety of the immediate environment and the trailer as a source of personal stress. 

The private and multi-use FEMA trailer sites ranked all the items relatively the same (within 0.25) except for three areas.  The multi-use trailer sites ranked the trailer size and acoustical control 0.75 points lower than that of the private users.  In addition, inhabitants of the multi-use trailers ranked the safety of the immediate environment 1.25 points lower than that of a private owner.  IMC also discovered, due to a lack of security, that 49% of those living within a FEMA trailer park did not feel safe walking alone at night.  In addition, 50% of the inhabitants met criteria for a depressive disorder, 62% disliked the small usable interior space, and 54% disliked the inability to modify characteristics of the trailers interior and/or exterior (Singlemann, 2010).



The next blog entry will provide you with the shelter design considerations, as well as the users wants and needs that I found during researching my thesis topic.



Text
2 Years in a FEMA Trailer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com
Bradley, R. (2007, September 7). Life in a FEMA Trailer. Retrieved October 15, 2010, from
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2SDyGfsgQ8
Huckabee, L. (2008, November 8). Lindsay Huckabee: One Family's Formaldehyde Story.
      Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR4z8vdbDpY
Keteyran, A. (2008, July 28). FEMA Trailer Workers Speak Out. Retrieved October 15, 2010,
      from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQQcToTgpp4.
Life in a FEMA Trailer. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch
      ?v=_2SDyGfsgQ8,
Singlemann, J. (2010). Dislocation and Depression: Social Consequences of Hurricane Katrina
      and Rita. Society and National Resources. London: Taylor and Francis Group.

Images
Image 1 - http://www.uvsconsole.com/clients/cmpo/storage/photos/128320172392143.jpg
Image 2 - http://www.uvsconsole.com/clients/cmpo/storage/photos/128319130758624.jpg
Image 3 - http://www.zimbo.com/pictures/z9AWOeFXsO/FEMA+Trailer+Park+Residents+
               Facing+June+1/EGUqu0iJHyJ/Catherine+Dean
Image 4 - http://msnbcmedia2.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Photo_StoryLevel/090708-
               FEMA-trailer-hmed-3p.grid-6x2.jpg
Image 5 - http://www.zimbo.com/pictures/ZS/Louisiana+FEMA+Trailer+Park+Still+Inhabited



Temporary Sheltering of the Past and Present

            Sheltering options after a natural disaster vary depending on a number of things which include the location of the disaster, the economy of the impacted area, and the preparedness of that country. After extensive research, two examples have stood out: tents, hexayurt, the Core House, and the Uber Shelter used after Haiti’s earthquake and Karen Chapple’s cottage and the FEMA trailer used after Hurricane Katrina.

Haiti Relief Tents

            On January 12, 2010, a magnitude 7.0earthquake hit Haiti. In the 35 seconds of shaking, 1.3 million people instantly became homeless. Even though United States’ economy is dreadful, Haiti’s economy is that of a 3rd world country. Therefore, the majority of the 1.3 million displaced individuals are not able to afford adequate sheltering. Due to this, tents have become the most popular shelter and housing option. However, a flimsy tent in the tropical weather of Haiti can easily become dry rotted in the summer months. In addition, the weather prone area increases the chance these tents will be damaged or destroyed by high winds. The $400 tents face another problem, flooding due to the area’s high level of precipitation. In addition, in a press release, Vincent Houver, IOM’s (International Organization for Migration) Chief of Mission of Haiti, stated that these “tents are a three to five month option in the midst of the dry season (Wired Covers,2010, para. 3)

 Image 1 - Tents located in Haiti

The Hexayurt

In Haiti, if a low cost wood structure was employed, the majority of the problems the tents caused would be solved, such as durability, wind and rain resistance, and cost effectiveness.  One such shelter, the Hexayurt, consists of a 166 square foot structure that can be built for only $100.  Its designer, Vinay Gupta, designed the structure to be used in locations such as the Hurricane Belt and flood-prone areas.  These structures, built from standard 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood, utilize zero waste and costs 66-75% less than that of an average relief tent. 

To make a Hexayurt, put six sheets of your chosen building material onto their sides, forming a hexagon.  Then six diagonally cut sheets of plywood come together to structure the roof.  To create a water resistant interior space, overlap the sheets when assembling them to creating a cone shape.  Next, securely fasten the cone shape to the hexagon walls.  Finally, caulk and waterproof the structure to provide as much durability as possible.  By doing this, the structure has been estimated, to withstand normal weather conditions for as long as two years (Heckert, 2007).

 Image 2 - The Hexayurt

The Core House

            Architect Andres Duany, one of the developers of the Katrina Cottage, has developed a cost-effective durable shelter called the Core House.  His shelter, which is designed to withstand earthquakes and hurricanes, will be used to house the displaced individuals of Haiti.  The Core House, which can sleep eight individuals, uses Innovida’s fiber composite panel system to create strong durable mold-proof wall system.  Duany’s 160 square foot shelter, on an average, costs of $6,000.  It also provides a sleeping area, a shaded covered area, and a space for outdoor cooking.  When comparing his shelter to that of a FEMA trailer, Duany states “[the FEMA trailers], which are for lower middle class people, is like a mansion in Haiti.  Our houses [only] need to get [the displaced individuals] out of the rain” (Viglucci, 2010, para. 16). 

            Due to the fact that no two cultures are the exact same, a United States application of the Core House would present the inhabitants with a number of problems.  These problems could include: the lack of privacy, the lack of a toilet, not incorporating a way to collect and store water and a source of electricity, and a lack of useable square footage.  In addition, two problems in any location could arise.  The first problem is its large opening.  This opening, used for ventilation and creating a shaded area, can act as a sail in a strong storm or hurricane which will knock the shelter off its cinder blocks.  The second problem is the cinder blocks the shelter sits on.  Having a shelter that sleeps up to eight people, there is a need for a better way to anchor and raise the shelter off the ground (Viglucci, 2010).

 Image 3 - Duany's Core House

The Uber Shelter

Designer Rafael Smith and his Uber Shelter presents a successful solution to this growing problem of providing post-disaster temporary shelters.  He designed his shelter to respond to natural disasters in poorer countries, such as Haiti, after the earthquake.  Due to Haiti’s poor economy, Smith’s shelter is designed in three stages: emergency, transitional, and permanent.  In the emergency stage, the frame of the structure would be provided to get the people off the ground and out of the elements.  In addition, this stage consists of a 190 square foot platform for $200.  In the transitional stage, the walls, doors, and windows would be added to the frame.  This stage would remain the original 190 square feet but cost an additional $1,300.  In the permanent stage, the shelter would be expandable to a larger size.  In this stage, the shelter would grow to 250 square feet and cost an additional $1,000. 

For easy compact transportation, the shelter would arrive as a kit-of-parts with the dimensions of 2’ x 4’ x 8’.  Therefore, forty shelters would be able to fit into a standard shipping container.  To make Smith’s shelter easily transportable, each kit can be separated into four separate sections, each weighing 300 pounds.  Once in its desired location, the shelter can be erected in five hours with the help of four people.  In addition, only two wrenches are needed to erect the shelter.  With its many positives, a shelter designed for Haiti would have many complications when brought to the United States.  The complications would be with missing amenities that would be needed in New Orleans.  These missing amenities would include: an indoor toilet, running water, an electricity hook up, heating and cooling, as well as square footage minimums to provide a sense of comfort, privacy, and well-being (Smith, 2010).

Image 4 - Rafael Smith's Uber Shelter

            These above examples are only four of the temporary shelters designs that I focused on during the research section of my thesis project.  What is one element that the above designed sheltering options have in common?  The answer is they were designed for a Haitian application.  However, there are not many temporary sheltering options that are designed for use within the United States.  And not just designed for the United States, but for the four separate climatic zones located in the United States.  The shelter that is regularly used, the FEMA trailer, is a cookie cutter design that is used in all parts of the country: even though, it is not adaptable and poorly designed for any environment.

            The next blog will be about the research I found on the largest source of information that I used when designing the proposed shelter design, the FEMA trailer.  

Text 

Heckert, P. (2007, May 15). Why a Tornado or Hurricane Can Lift the Roof off a House.

Retrieved January 3, 2011, from http://www.suite101.com/content/bernoullis-principle-and-storms-a21290.

Smith, R. (2010, June). Rafael - The Uber Shelter Project. Retrieved September 17, 2010, from

 http://vimeo.com/12478705.

Wired Covers the Hexayurt. (2010, February 11). Dangerous Minds. Retrieved November 10,

             2010, from http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/wired_covers_the_hexayurt.

Images

1-      http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/haiti%20tents.jpg

2-      http://www.kk.org/cooltools/hexayurt2sm.jpg

3-      http://www.instablogsimages.com/images/2010/01/29/core-house2_MnKrS_24429.jpg

4-      http://whatgives365.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/p4.jpg



Viglucci, A. (2010, January 29). Miami Architect Devises Prefabs for Haiti’s Homeless. The

Palm Beach Post. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/world/miami-architect-devises-prefabs-for-haitis-homeless-201663.html?sort=desc

How I Began My Graduate Thesis Project

Ever since I was a child, I have had a fascination with every aspect of a natural disaster (tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes).  I remember being glued to the television every April, due to the extreme weather, in the hopes that I would be able to witness a tornado or major flooding.   In addition, I would spend hours on end watching the history and discovery channel to try and learn why natural disasters occur, the destruction they could cause, and what events occurred afterward. 

I recently graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale newly accredited architectural masters program. During our junior and senior studios, we designed projects (community center, elementary school, and environmental center) for the area most dramatically affected area by Hurricane Katrina, The Lower Ninth Ward.  In addition, we visited New Orleans and Brad Pitt’s “Make It Right” houses.  While conveying a site analysis for our projects, I noticed that displaced people were still living in FEMA trailers four years after Hurricane Katrina. 

 Displaced individuals waithing for pubic transportation alongside a highway

An aerial perspective of the flooding Hurricane Katrina’s surge caused in New Orleans

On August 28th 2005, Hurricane Katrina, the United States third deadliest hurricane, flooded 80 percent of New Orleans, killed 1,800 people, damaged 275,000 homes, and left 650,000 people temporary homeless.  In addition, it began to reveal the unpreparedness of FEMA and our country during the occurrence of a natural disaster

An image of a FEMA trailer next to a ravaged home

   

After I personally viewed and researched FEMA’s molasses-like actions in providing 650,000 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005, I realized that our government’s actions could have been viewed, by some people, as neglectful.  To make matters worse, a large number of the 119,000 trailers post-Katrina incorporated materials that produced off gassing of formaldehyde.  Therefore, FEMA’s attempt to supply the 650,000 displaced households with temporary housing was short of satisfactory.  With the occurrence and magnitude of natural disasters increasing, whether it is a hurricane, tornado, or earthquake, there is a large number of people that are forced into homelessness every year.  These displaced people are in need of temporary sheltering to aid them while seeking permanent housing.  Therefore, I wanted to use the knowledge I have gained in college to attempt to replace the FEMA trailer as the main nationwide sheltering option

In addition, after Hurricane Katrina, FEMA created trailer parks that did many things: they packed trailers in like sardines, created unsafe standards, and made people embarrassed to live in such areas.  Therefore, in addition to creating a temporary shelter, there is a need for a pre-designed post-disaster shelter village.  The village will give the inhabitants all the amenities, security, and accessibility needed for temporary living, as well as making the displaced families feel welcome to stay in the village.  With the occurrence of natural disasters increasing, so is the need to find a nationwide solution to housing displaced individuals that combine fast construction, cost effectiveness, and green aspects.  In addition, by utilizing interchangeable elements, the displaced families would gain some control; therefore, the research had lead to a post-disaster temporary shelter.  The proposed thesis project attempts to do three things: to fit a shelter design to the needs of the users, to fit a shelter design to the needed environment, and to design a shelter village.



The next blog posting will include the first of two elements that were researched before designing the proposed shelter design.