Design of low-tech houses as a response to the needs of large groups of people in crisis situations
Housing developments of the future. Design of low-tech houses as a response to the needs of large groups of people in crisis situations (on the example of refugees in Ukraine), located in the vicinity of the Kampinos National Park and Warsaw. Project raises issues related to construction technologies that respect the limited resources of our planet.
Regional
Poland
Kampinos National Park and Warsaw
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
The project raises issues related to construction technologies that respect the limited resources of our planet. It is an attempt to find answers to growing environmental problems in an unusual situation - with intervention architecture. In crisis situations, large groups of people are usually housed in container apartments, prefabricated concrete objects, or abandoned / post-factory buildings adapted to new functions. This is due to the fact, that such solutions are usually the fastest.
Project will look for a solution that would simultaneously satisfy the most important needs of potential residents (on the example of groups of refugees from Ukraine), but in such a way that the construction of the planned complex would require as little carbon footprint as possible. Potential scenarios for the next life cycles of the complex are also taken into consideration.
To begin with, the issue of building for people in crisis will be explored. On the basis of Maslow's Pyramid of Needs and existing projects, I tried to identify what features such a complex should have. How many people should be allocated, how the common space should be organized in it and what scale a complex should have.
Then, the methods of participation of future residents in the process of building the foundation were also analysed, as cooperation and building a sense of community is an important postulate of the low-tech trend.
The aim of the topic is therefore an attempt to show that solutions made with the use of sometimes forgotten, or even considered obsolete, technologies can also be beautiful and functional. It is also an attempt to build a friendly space for a group of people, so that when they live in it, they can immediately feel, that when designing the space for them, author of the project was guided by empathy.
low-tech
architecture of the crisis
Refugees
small community
assimilation
- ensuring the possibility of participation of future residents while building the complex
- modularity of individual system components
- adaptive capacity, diversity of common space
- designing all common spaces as places accessible to the disabled
- passive solutions that help in the functioning of the complex; greenhouses, thick walls, compact form of the buildings
- the use of rammed earth masonry technology
- the use of regional and recycled materials
- floors of driveways and paths as biologically active surfaces
- rainwater recovery and reuse
- a large amount of spontaneous greenery and plantings, maximum preservation of the greenery already existing on the plot, especially the high one
- not designing all solutions as "final", leaving space for changes by future residents, space for them to individualize their space, for example by tending their own gardens or personalizing the facade
- possible subsequent life cycles of the development will be proposed in the event of the end of the refugee problem, so that the facilities can be maximally useful and function effectively for years
-space, thanks to subdued colors and materials, will allow people visiting it to feel calm and belonging to the place. Thanks to the offset of roads and car parks, this impression will not be disturbed by noise. The view of the Kampinoski National Park and a large amount of tall greenery enhance the impression of the naturalness of the space.
- creating common spaces encouraging to build bonds between refugees and between refugees and the local community (also by introducing the market function)
- coherent and rhythmic architecture of the whole with the possibility of personalizing the residential buildings with the selected color of the facade and the original arrangement of decorative wooden elements on the facades, private family gardens as an additional opportunity to express yourself and personalize your own space
- there will be a lot of tall greenery on the site, the buildings will be arranged in such a way as to minimize the need to cut down trees, there will also be numerous reservoirs of retention water and the presence of spontaneous greenery will be promoted
- clear and intuitive communication and road system
- the designed facilities will have simple plans and will be composed of repetitive, modular elements, so that the process of erecting them is simple enough for future residents to also participate in it
- alternative proposals for floor plans will be presented so that, depending on the requirements of the arrivals / size of families or the level of fitness of refugees, it is possible to adjust the layout of the rooms and the size of the facility to the circumstances (or possible later expansion)
- the complex will include common facilities such as: an administration building, a kindergarten, a market, a building for cultural and educational events, a greenhouse, a playground
- creating a development opportunity for refugees through the possibility of co-creating the market and cultural and educational events in the common house
- one of the design goals was to adapt the ground floors of the buildings to the needs of the disabled. The floors of the buildings are flat and designed to meet the requirements of wheelchair users. The entrance thresholds to the building have been minimized to a maximum of 2 cm, and the paths leading to the building and recreation points on the plot have no steps. There are six places for the disabled in the car park. Sanitary facilities located on the ground floors of residential and common buildings have been designed so that they can be used by disabled people. In addition, all common and organizational buildings are only one-story
- strong emphasis on building relations between local residents and refugees by introducing the function of a market and a greenhouse, as well as a larger parking lot so that visitors can also use it
- one of the main assumptions of the functional layout was to zone functions depending on the level of their openness, thus creating a clear layout with varying degrees of social interaction.
- in order to conduct larger events, intended for all residents, they can use a common house, or more precisely - two common houses. In one of them there is a room intended for educational or cultural events. The second is connected to it by a terrace. This space between the two shared houses contains a view opening to the park and the entire resort. In the case of events taking place on warm days, it can be an extension of the function of the Common Room - a terrace for dance parties, a space for an artistic vernissage or a terrace under the tables for a common feast. The second house has a complement to the first one - there are toilets and a shared kitchen.
- place designed for everyone is a small park and a playground located in it. The playground is connected with the kindergarten. In a situation of great difficulties with getting into kindergartens in Poland and the need to find work by many refugees who are also parents of small children, the existence of a kindergarten was considered one of the most important assumptions for the center.
- The greenhouse is clearly visible from every place of establishment, it is a kind of symbol of cooperation and resourcefulness of refugees. The products grown there can serve both the inhabitants of the establishment and be sold at the market. The market itself is to be a potential place of work, but above all, it aims to integrate the population living in the center with the local residents.
I read numerous studies of organizations dealing with the issue and needs of refugees in Poland, such as "Ocalenie Foundation" and "Migration Research Center" and UNHCR Poland. I also analyzed Maslow's five needs in the context of the order of refugee needs and the ways in which architecture can meet them. I consulted numerous design, material, aesthetic and functional decisions with professors of the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology, in the Department of Construction, Ecology and Building Physics.
I consulted the project with a professor from the Department of Civil Engineering - Jerzy Górski, who once built a building of rammed earth (in the commune of Pałęsk in Poland) at the Faculty of Architecture in Warsaw, to make sure that the designed details are well thought out and possible to be made not only by professional construction teams, but also refugees helping them.
In addition, I made calculations with Michał Gołębiewski, a professor from the Department of Structure Design, Building and Technical Infrastructure, making sure that the designed partitions would meet the standards and strongly accumulate heat.
I designed the functional layout with the help of various publications on ethics on the reception of refugees and what elements of architecture would later give them a chance to become more independent and develop.
In crisis situations, large groups of people are usually housed in container apartments, prefabricated concrete objects, or abandoned / post-factory buildings adapted to new functions. This is due to the fact, that such solutions are usually the fastest, but it turns out that on average a refugee does not stay in a new country for a few months, but may even stay for many years. The most unusual aspect of the design is the longevity of the designed buildings. They are solid and built to serve as homes for a long time, and in the event of the end of the war, they can be easily converted into a holiday resort outside the city or a retirement home. Another unusual feature is the technology in which the designed objects are made. Low-tech technologies are not popular in Poland due to both the climate and the society's reluctance to such solutions. The project aims to present the possibilities and beauty that is found in natural materials.
I think that the block of houses proposed in this project is universally functional and both the idea of erection and the plan of the building could be repeated for Refugees in many other places in Poland. The project was conceived as consisting of modular elements, so that it could be easily adapted to other places of different sizes and surroundings.
In addition, the idea of including a space in the design dedicated specifically to building relations between Refugees and the local community (market, greenhouse) seems to be useful for a complex designed for Refugees anywhere.
The concept primarily addresses the problem of refugees, it is an attempt to create a friendly living space for them and provide a chance to build relationships with local residents. In addition, the project is maximally pro-environmental. It is an attempt to respond to global warming and the deteriorating condition of the environment.
