ARCHITECTURE HUMANITARIA EMERGENCIES

ARCHITECTURE
HUMANITARIAN
EMERGENCIES
MARIA GOMEZ-GUILLAMON

01

01

JORGE LOBOS

EDITOR BOARD

Peder Duelund Mortensen, lector, cand. arch. MAA

Jrgen Eskemose Andersen, lector, cand. arch. MAA
Jorge Lobos, architect
Mara Gmez-Guillamn, cand. arch. MAA
Vicki Thake, cand. arch. MAA

GRAPHIC DESIGN
Vicki Thake, cand. arch. MAA

TRANSLATION
Yolanda Baz

PHOTOGRAPHS

page 60

PRINTING
Arco Grafisk A/S

TYPOGRAPHY

Arch

FUNDS

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture. Denmark

Faculty of Architecture of Alghero, University of Sassari, Italy

COPYRIGHT

2011 The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture and the authors
www.karch.dk

ISBN

978-87-7830-255-7

ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES

INTRODUCTION

II

ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES

1
2
3
4

III

CIRCLE OF TRAGEDY
TRAGEDY TYPES
PROJECT MATRIX
PREDICTABILITY OF DIFFERENT TRAGEDIES

WORKSHOP 5X5
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITARIAN TRAGEDIES
1
5 CASES X 5 PLACES OVER THE WORLD
2
GENERAL INFORMATION
3
COMPARATIVE INFORMATION
4
PROJECT CASES

MOZAMBIQUE Chokwe
Floods

ITALY
LAquila
Earthquake

CHILE
Chaiten
Volcano Eruption

SRI LANKA
Manik Farm
Civil War

MALDIVES
Mal
Climate Change

IV

CONCLUSION
A
B
C

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
ARCHITECTURE THEORY
ACADEMIC

INDEX

01

I'm not a Humanitarian Architect. I'm just an architect whose clients have less money
Fernando Ferreiro, architect U.N. Mozambique 2010

THIS COURSE HAS BEEN CREATED POINTING AT THE

FOLLOWING ACADEMIC OBJECTIVES

It has to date been difficult to reach the less developed regions of the world from the architecture profession.

A
To show that architecture for Humanitarian Emergencies is not a second-class architecture. It is necessary that top professionals and
architecture schools work seriously with this topic and hence incorporate such activities in the curriculum.

Natural hazards and extreme weather conditions are occurring at an increasingly frequent rate due to climate change.
This has disproportionate impact on the poorest areas of the world.

THE POOREST AREAS OF THE WORLD SUFFER CONTINUOSLY

FROM HUMANITARIAN DISASTERS
Only few architecture institutions, professionals within practise or universities work with the consequences of disasters
(U.N. Habitat, UNCHR, Architects for Humanity, etc.).
This unbalanced situation is one of the challenges for architecture in the 21st century, and it is about time to assume a deeper
knowledge about an ethical behaviour through a new architectural approach.
This booklet documents the first structured attempt at the School of Architecture in Copenhagen to build up systematic teaching
and research experience.The hypothesis of the teaching experiment presented in this booklet is that architects ought to be involved
from the very beginning after a given disaster. Any catastrophe will imply a transformation of the built environment in the short and
long perspective. Architects have the capacity to guide such transformations. The long term spatial impact of a disaster is often
neglected and many temporary settlements end up as slum.
Therefore, it is important that architects take their social responsibility seriously. It is our responsibility to respond to the Human
Rights Declaration; e.g. in the right to appropriate shelter as declared by U.N. in 1948.

10

B
To work with low-cost and sustainable projects in emergencies affected communities which need support from architecture, in order
to create solutions that may help to mitigate future problems.
C
To understand that different identities and cultures can represent an endless source of architectonic inspiration.
D
To develop research-based teaching. (Institute 3, DHS and Department 7)

I INTRODUCTION

MORE THAN 90% OF ARCHITECTS LIVE AND WORK IN THE

RICHEST AREAS OF THE WORLD

11

A way to affront these complex cases is through an architectural matrix of three sides or entrances:

DISASTER
0

PREPAREDNESS

EMERGENCY
Search and rescue
Emergency relief
Delivery food and shelter
First hours to 10 days

Culture

plans
emergency exercises and training
warning systems
evacuation routes

ays

d
10
PREVENTION

RECOVER

Architecture model for shelters

to incorporate Disaster Risk Reduction
concepts adaptation

3m

on

hy

Building codes and zoning

Vulnerability analyses
Public educations
Manuals on reconstruction and Building
Back Better solutions
Posters
etc.

24 months

MITIGATION

p
ra

og

Ge

ths

Assessment phase
Temporary housing
Mall grants
Medical care
Refugee camps
10 days - 3 months

RECONSTRUCTION
Long term solutions
Re-building housingsand economy systems
Loans, resettlements
3 months to 24 months (variable)

REHABILITATION

12

NATURAL DISASTERS
COMPLEX OR MANMADE EMERGENCIES
PANDEMIC
CLIMATE CHANGE

fE

o
ind

Matrix created by Jorge Lobos and designed by Cristian Gilchrist

E Architecture & Human Rights

4
PREDICTABILITY OF THE DIFFERENT TRAGEDIES

2
EMERGENCIES TYPES
A
B
C
D

es

nci

e
erg

Earthquake, Flood, Tsunami, Drought, Volcano Eruption, Hurricane

Civil Conflict, Civil War, Internal Displace Persons, Political Conflict
Public epidemic diseases
A new category, a mix of manmade and natural disaster

Learning How Living with Flood by Eduardo Feuerhake, is a positive example of how architecture can help to mitigate Human
tragedies.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAJpn1G9wE4

II EMERGENCIES

3
PROJECT MATRIX

1
CIRCLE OF TRAGEDY

Most humanitarian disasters are predictable. It allows architecture to help, mitigating a large range of problems, but it necessarily
requires research and work before the tragedy happens.It means a change in the working methodology of architects; we need to
imagine a situation in advance, without a determined client, and then try to give an architectonic respond according to disaster risk
reduction and the development of warning systems is important.
13

Map: disaster concentration, according with casualty amount produced by the sasi group www.worldmapper.org
copyright 2006 sasi group (university of sheffield) and mark newman (university of michigan)

Refugee Camps have an average life of

Peter Kjaer, Copenhagen University 2009

7 years and they receive thousands of people

80% of different tragedies are predictable and expectable

Doctors without Borders, Barcelona 2007

STUDYING DIFFERENT CASES IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAFICAL LOCATIONS ALLOWS US TO HAVE A WIDE VIEW OF THE
WORLD AND EXPLORING HOW MUCH ARCHITECTURE CAN HELP IN EXTREME SITUATIONS:
Mozambique
Italy
Chile
Sri Lanka
Maldives

Chokwe
LAquila
Chaiten
Manik Farm
Mal

Floods
Earthquake
Volcano Eruption
Civil War
Climate Change

THESE EXTREME CASES OBLIGATE OUR PROJECTS TO

CONSIDER:
A
Being closer to the social reality. It gives us better architectural answers to problems of different communities.
B
Understanding that architecture has very much to say in a humanitarian crisis.
By developing better architectural responses, we can alleviate the sufferings of millions of people.
C
Low- cost and fast implementation is a fundamental condition of our projects.

18

METHODOLOGY
First week

Topic presentation. Comprehensive explanation of every problem

Lectures: New experiences within the presented topics
Practice: Everyone works on the five cases

Second week

5 groups x 5 cases. Each group develops one case.

Final presentation: Project strategy

THE PROGRAM OF THE COURSE:

ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES
A
Seminary:

Five lectures by different specialists:

Red Cross, Copenhagen University
UNHCR
Architects without Borders Denmark

B
Workshop

11th to 22nd January 2010

Participants:
U.N. Habitat Mozambique
University Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique

C
Research

Publication 2010

III WORKSHOP 5X5

1
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES
5 CASES X 5 PLACES OF THE WORLD

19

VOLCANO
ERUPTION

COUNTRY

GDP USD 2.041

SRI LANKA

GDP USD 3.932

MALDIVES

GDP USD 465

MOZAMBIQUE

GDP USD 35.435

ITALY

TROPICAL ISLAND
INDIC OCEAN

MODERATED TROPICAL
CORAL ISLANDS/ REEFS

SUBTROPICAL
COASIAL PLAIN RIVER

COLD CLIMATE
MOUNTAINS

MOUNTAINS
COLD RAINY

CLIMATE

EARTH QUAKE

GDP USD 9.525

TRAGEDY

CHILE

2
GENERAL INFORMATION
EUROPEAN
CATHOLIC CULTURE

HINDU TAMILS
BUDDHIST SINHALESE

CIVIL WAR
ISLAMIC SUNNI
ETHNIC MIX( MUSLIM/HINDU ETC)

CLIMATE CHANGE

DIFFERENT RELIGIONS
AFRICAN CULTURE

FLOOD

LATIN AMERICA
CATHOLIC CULTURE

CULTURE

22

VOLCANO
ERUPTION

CIVIL WAR

2008

2009
(FINISH)

NEXT
50
YEARS

5000

250.000

350.000

CLIMATE
CHANGES

EARTH QUAKE

YEAR

2009

TRAGEDY

50.000

FLOOD

PLACE

2000

MAL

MANIK
FARM

CHAITEN

LAQUILA

CHOKWE

COUNTRY

60.000

MALDIVES

SRI LANKA

CHILE

ITALY

MOSAMBIQUE

3
COMPARATIVE
INFORMATION

AFFECTED
PEOPLE

23

OZAMBIQU

HOKWE/ FLOOD

PROBLEM 1X5
MOZAMBIQUE - CHOKWE - FLOODS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rdmxu2GwB8
PROBLEM
Floods
2000
Chokwe

26

Each decade Mozambique suffers several large floods from its big rivers. Limpopo is one of them.
Limpopo floods affected 200.000 inhabitants.
73.000 inhabitants. 60.000 of them were affected.

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
Mozambique Government tries to relocate people on higher land, far away from the river.
The problem is that the local economy depends on the agriculture produced at the Limpopo Basin and its rich soil.

27

SOLUTION 1X5
PROJECT STRATEGY
1
Discover higher and safer places inside the Limpopo Basin: These places might coincide with public spaces such as squares, markets and schools.
2
Create roads (land) and canals (water) leading to safer places. People could move by boats.
3
Create Survival Platforms on these safe places in order to host people during floods. These platforms will be used for building schools, markets or other
social facilities.

28

29

AQUILA/ EARTHQUAK

TAL

PROBLEM 2X5
ITALY - LAQUILA - EARTHQUAKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZQ2CFl1nVk
PROBLEM
6th April 2009 Laquila had an earthquake 6.2 Richter. Epicentre was to 10km of the city:
Laquila 72.000 inhabitants.
50.000 lost their houses
1.500 injured
300
dead

32

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
Building apartment blocks 40 km from the old city.
One year later, people continued living outside LAquila. They complained of this solution.
Italy, a country that belonging to G8, was not prepared for this tragedy.

33

SOLUTION 2X5
PROJECT STRATEGY
1
The destroyed public buildings could allow for the creation new public spaces. It turns the tragedy into a new urban opportunity for LAquila.
2
Build new steel structures to prevent old walls of the historic city from collapsing.
These structures are the seed of the new buildings houses.
3
Debris and stones, one of the biggest problems in each earthquake, are used like a new landscape in public spaces around the old city.

34

35

HIL

HAITEN/ VOLCANO ERUPTIO

PROBLEM 3X5
CHILE - CHAITEN - VOLCANO - ERUPTION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7CBQfVKVnA
PROBLEM
2nd of May 2008 Chaiten Volcano broke out, after centuries without any sign of volcanic activity.
It produced ash clouds covering the entire Chaiten City. The volcanic eruption changed the channel of Blanco River, dividing the city in two parts. Chaiten was
totally destroyed.
5000 inhabitants lost their homes meaning the entire city.

38

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
Chilean Government wanted to build a new city, 10 km. from the old one.
People from Chaiten did not want to move that long, they wanted to keep on living near their old city.

39

SOLUTION 3X5
PROJECT STRATEGY
1
Re-build city on hills, closer to the old Chaiten, where people can watch their old places and houses and maintain their social net.
2
Leave the old city like parks, sporting facilities, public and/or memory spaces. There could even be private gardens and yards related to the new housing on
the hill. This project shows a dignified respect to the original inhabitants.
3
Design new housing on pillars on the hill with a cantilevered roof to protect from future volcanic ashes.

40

41

RI
LANK
ANIK FARM/ CIVIL WA

PROBLEM 4X5
SRI LANKA - MANIK FARM - CIVIL WAR
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8KZ09rsveQ
PROBLEM
Civil war between Hindu Tamils and Buddhist Sinhalese has kept on centuries.
Last year Sri Lanka Government got control over the whole country.
This meant that hundreds of thousands of Tamils arrived at Refugee Camps.

44

Manik Farm is one of those camps, suitable to host 150.000 people.

Right now, 250.000 people live in Manik Farm.
It is a big city with extremely poor conditions. People have been demonstrating to complain about their terrible situation.
GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
There is not a public official strategy, just to maintain the refugee camps.

45

Site

Diagram: Market

Market

Market

Possible further development of the initially

communities

Transit
Administration
Storage

Transit
Administration
Storage

Transit
Administration
Storage

SOLUTION 4X5

Site

Site

Distribution
Medicare
School

Distribution
Medicare
School

Distribution
Medicare
School

Site
Preservation of existing trees and bushes
Transit
Administration
Storage

The rapid erection of the shelterunits, creates social structures and communities
throughtout the site, organized around the
infrastructure

Main roads are established. Smaller roads

and pathways are naturally formed over
time in the area by the organization of the
settlements.

Latrines are spread out equally within the

area

Trees
Water points
Latrines
Shelters

Trees
Water points
Latrines
Shelters
Infrastructure

Trees
Water points
Latrines

Market

Trees
Water points
Latrines
Shelters

Trees
Water points
Latrines
Shelters

Trees
Water points
Latrines
Distribution
Medicare
School

Trees

Cemetary

Cemetary

Cemetary

Cemetary

Diagram:
Possible further development of the initially
communities

ation of the tent

Tent formation

Keyhole
structure
Keyhole
structure
closed
community
Closed
community

Snake
structure
Snake structure
semi-closed communities
Semi-closed
community

Community

Expanding community
Community
Community

PROJECT STRATEGY
1
Design a new tent in order to create a new social net by seperating private spaces from public spaces.

46

Expanding
community
Expanding
community

Self-supporting family-/units
Self-supporting family-units
Self-supporting family-/units

2
Develop a refugee camp bearing in mind that it might become a new city:
Creating public buildings (hospital, school, social meetings) like towers of several levels.
By the time when there is no longer need of the refugee camp, all the buildings could be used according to three future possible situations:
A new city: Buildings would be a seed of a new city.
Agriculture field: Sustainable buildings for future farm activities.
Memory places: for future civil education.

47

ALDIVE

AL/ CLIMATE CHANG

PROBLEM 5X5
MALDIVES - MAL - CLIMATE - CHANGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGnfJGStkmE
PROBLEM
Maldives is the lowest country on the planet with an average ground level of 1.5 meters above sea level with the lowest highest point in the world at only 2.3
meters above sea level.
Its geography makes this country very vulnerable to Climate Change. If the prediction of scientists is correct, Maldives could disappear during this century due
to rising sea levels.

50

GOVERNMENT STRATEGY
Maldives Government is looking for land in India or Sri Lanka in order to be able to eventual move its 350.000 inhabitants over the next years.

51

SOLUTION 5X5

200 year transition

500 year utopia/dystopia

URBAN GROWTH AND RESCUEPLAN

Diagrams showing possible changes for saving primary islands coastline and inland

RESCUE AND GROWTH PLAN

Diagrams showing possible changes for saving smaller and midlarge islands

PROJECT STRATEGY
1 The old buildings of Mal would be the new foundation of the future high city.
2 Creating a new public transport system on water and under water.
3 Creating floating islands close to the small coral islands.
4 Designing housing on pillars to protect from of rising sea level.

52

53

2/3 (4.400.000.000) of the world population have no link to professional architecture

Then, how can architects conclu de that they are out of work...?
Julian Salas, ETSAM, Madrid 2000

Jorge Lobos, architect Chile 2001

B
ARCHITECTURE THEORY

1
In cases of Humanitarian disasters, architects are generally absent or has limited influence in the political strategies of governments
or international institutions.
Architects can indeed propose new strategic solutions, more creative, cheaper respecting the local culture and hence being more
sustainable.

1
Rethink the relation between Architecture and Human Rights. It opens a new theoretical line in architecture where there must be
a better balance between art and sociology, ethic and aesthetic, economy and Human Rights.

2
Each case we studied could be used like a jumping-off experience for another similar case.
It is necessary to create a sort of benchmark with all the examined cases.
3
Large tragedies bring sufferings and pain to millions of people.
However those tragedies could be considered as new opportunities to improve our urban systems,
developing new strategies and plans more systematic for Disasters Risk Reduction (DRR) and protecting people in the future.
4
The refugee camps are places forgotten by architecture profession.
They are places where thousands of people from different countries or Internal Displaced Persons (IDR) come to get protection.
They are received by Humanitarian Organizations.
These places are prepared for emergency conditions and the possibility of developing a normal life is extremely difficult.
U.N. HABITAT and NGOs reckon that these camps work provisionally just for few months in theory..
The reality is very different: They have an average life of 7 years.
That is why the way of conceiving a refugee camp has to change and the architecture profession has a role in this process.
Since many camps become cities, they should be considered more as proper cities than just temporary solutions.

56

2
This means a dramatic change in the traditional conception of an architect as an aesthetic constructor for the richest people.
An architect should also be a social activist with ideas from the architectural experience, research and teaching and more sensible
for cultural identities.
It would allow architecture knowledge to reach out to every 2/3rd inhabitant of those parts of the world with either none or little
presence of professional architecture.

C
ACADEMIC
1
When teachers are able to show clear architectural problems as is often the case in disasters situations, students are able to develop
faster solutions creating deeper and better project strategies.
2
If students learn that architecture have a role concerning social problems, they may feel that their work is more meaningful
and directly human- related.
3
The two week Workshop 5x5 opened several possibilities in project strategies and showed very innovative architectural solutions.
It is proposed to continue developing some of these ideas during the whole semester within the normal studio works taking place
within the different departments.

IV CONCLUSION

A
ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE

57

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Karuthurimai1
http://www.pontamamoli.com/Outside_Cultural_Experiences.html
www.opendemocracy.net/.../article_1386.jsp
http://saharanvibe.blogspot.com/2007/05/mozambique-africas-rising-star.html
Fernando Ferreiro U.N.Habitat mozambique
David Alexander: L'Aquila Earthquake
http://florianaevelyn.blogspot.com/
Cricketdiane.wordpress.com/.../
www.internationalrubbernecker.com/?cat=11
www. achyotros.mforos.com
Blog.nuestroclima.com/?p=1441
http://achyotros.mforos.com/1879899/9367929-volcan-chaiten-nos-muestra-su-furia/
Scienceblogs.com/eruptions/2009/02/volcanism_...
Leonid Plotkin

CREDITS

COPYRIGHTS

Karuthurimai1
http://trendsupdates.com/sri-lanka-war-exodus/
Karuthurimai1
Ahmed ( John)
AlbertoLin
Mohamed Malik
www.chinadaily.com.cn

61

Faculty of Architecture of Alghero, University of Sassari, Italy

KARCH DEPARTMENT 7

ORGANIZATION, TEACHING AND RESEARCH

Peder Duelund Mortensen
KARCH INSTITUTE 3
Jrgen Eskemose Andersen
KARCH INSTITUTE 3

Jorge Lobos (Visiting teacher)
KARCH INSTITUTE 3
Silje Eroy Sollien
KARCH INSTITUTE 3

Jan Sndergaard
KARCH DEPARTMENT 7
Mara Gmez-Guillamn
KARCH DEPARTMENT 7

ADMINISTRATION
Birgitte Weien

KARCH DEPARTMENT 7

VISITING ARCHITECTS
Eduardo Feuerhake
Fernando Ferreiro
Carlos Trindade

U.N. Habitat Mozambique

U.N. Habitat Mozambique
School of Architecture Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique

LECTURERS
Jorge Lobos,
Birgitte Bischoff,
Peter Rasmussen,
Niels Kryger,
Sofie Waborg
Marianne Filtenborg

Visiting teacher KARCH

Danish Red Cross
UNHCR
UNHCR
AWF DK
AWF DK

INSTITUTIONS
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts
Faculty of Architecture of Alghero
Faculty of Architecture of Maputo
Union Nations Habitat
Architects without Borders

62

School of Architecture of Copenhagen, Denmark

University of Sassari, Italy
University Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique
Mozambique
Denmark (AWF)

WORKSHOP ARCHITECTS
Kristin Astrup
Helle Bcken,
Jessica Strandell
Peter Branoberg
Rabi Shankar
WORKSHOP STUDENTS
MOZAMBIQUE
Anne Laerke Jrgensen
Stine Sonne
Morten Hansen
ITALY
Line Srensen
Kaia Tallaksen
Michael Brath
Kristian Serena
Christopher Galliano
CHILE
Mia Eskemse
Lena Schrade
Gunnar Gunnarsson
Vladimir Ladino
SRI LANKA
Julia Anshelm
Erik Pontus
Casper Juhler-Olsen
MALDIVES
Zaza Baumbach
Maria Louise Tolstrup
Azra Mehmedbasic
Sejr Siticum
Eyup Firinci

AWF DK
AWF DK
AWF DK
AWF DK
Copenhagen University

Aalborg Architecture School

Aalborg Architecture School
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7

CREDITS

COURSE CONCEPT
Jorge Lobos
Mara Gmez-Guillamn

Copenhagen University
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH department 2
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7
KARCH Department 7

63