Title:
Refugee/Container Housing
Authors:
Bryant Chou and Cameron Esfahani
Abstract:
Refugee Housing is an important and widely discussed topic amongst disaster relief workers. We believe however, that the same design methodologies can be applied to developing nation struggling with issues such as population control, clean water, and electricity distribution.
Technology Summary:
Every year we see simple concepts being implemented in developing countries, contributing greatly to increases in quality of life for citizens. These concepts can be very small, such as human powered generators, or very big, such as the relatively affordable Tata Nano. For years, design has been underway for a low cost and easily shippable home for deployment in emergency in situations. This research has recently lead way to the design of easily deployable permanent housing for use in developing countries. As we examine the possibilities of wide deployment housing, we find a vastly under-explored region of developmental study.

When considering a low cost and easily transportable home, many major design hurdles come into play. For example, if the homes are manufactured and packaged in the developing countries themselves, then shipping costs become much cheaper, however transportation of raw materials and manufacturing equipment then become a problem. When homes are manufactured overseas, shipping the fully or even partially assembled homes becomes very expensive. Returning a single shipping container can cost upwards of $2000, which already approaches the limit of affordable housing in developing countries.

Different organizations developing deployable housing have taken different stances on dealing with the materials and manufacturing processes. Some have been attempting to utilize the container itself as part of one or more units. This tactic has been beneficial, as containers themselves can be manufactured in China for as little as $1200, and containers are built to withstand harsh ocean conditions, corrosion, fire, and are mainly considered water-tight. Other development efforts have been trying to focus on minimizing costs by other means, for example the Shrimp Refugee Housing Project, which designed for four units to fit in a "high-cube" 45' shipping container. By fitting several units into a container, shipping costs become relatively manageable and prices for the future homeowners becomes reasonable.

Even after considering financial optimizations such as utilizing containers or reducing shipping space, the cost of manufacturing and assembling reliable housing remains a big issue. Various micro-financing schemes may take shape in the form of government subsidies that grant low interest rate loans to people in need. Examples of government funding has already been seen in Dharavi, India. Low-income apartment buildings were constructed near the slums, and qualifying low-income residents of the slums were given free relocation to the apartments. These apartment buildings did not achieve the level of success originally expected, partially due to many people preferring the slums to a large, unfamiliar building. This does, however, prove that the government is capable of funding, or at least subsidizing loans for low cost housing. While the actual monetary threshold for housing to be affordable varies from region to region, this does give us hope that the price of the house would not have to be paid up front, and possibly not in full.

Many projects currently exists that are aimed at low cost housing for developing countries, but there are also many projects that focus on related topics, such as temporary refugee housing, complex an luxurious shipping container based housing, and purely green housing. We find that these projects, while not aimed specifically at our focus, do aid in technological and design progress in low cost sustainable housing. Such projects will be also be discussed, along with their contributions to the topic at hand.


The Low Tech Balloon System is a fine example of another minimalist housing but is made out of indigenous materials. Animal feed sacks are stripped down and sewn together to provide insulating material which housing is built out of. This example of a low cost local housing is how many architects and green designers pursue their initiatives these days. The economical aspect of these systems complements the cheap price of the materials that are used in projects like these. Creating ways which local "cottage" industries could be employed to make such shelter is another way of stimulating local involvement - as well as stimulating cash/bartering systems in struggling economies like those in war or famine. The application of local products that create shelter is a great design movement that has been present in a lot of modern architecture. For example, the building of the alt-erlaa housing community revolves around using local materials and creating a manageable community where the low-income nature of the populace is not affected by the fact that it is not a place for the well off. This particular technology is not particularly novel, but it provides insight as to how a particular household can use existing materials to build a house. Economically, it would be cheap is animal sacks are regularly available. But in a country such as India, a few sacks of cattle feed to feed your cattle would designate one as middle class. Would a middle class citizen build his new house out of sacks of animal feed? This minimalist-modern design is thus a perfect example of whether a technology is suitable for the locality of the market.

The SHRIMP Refugee Housing Project attempts to provide a low cost floatable housing solution for refugees. Using IKEA-like materials, it manages to provide very functional aspects to living that can be sustainable as well. The IKEA-particle board design is novel in that it is studier than other materials described above. SHRIMP tackles many issues related to easy cheap housing. However, at a price of $4000, it is still too pricey to be rolled out on a large scale without government funding options. To put this in perspective, an average Dharavi Slum dweller can build a similar house (with far less amenities though) for less than $100 of corrugated steel, but using federally subsidized loans, that price could rise.

The SHRIMP house features a 6 piece pontoon system hidden under the floorboards of the house for floating the house over water. This is a very interesting design as it addresses many regions' concerns. In areas such as the mangroves of Bangladesh, to the flood stricken waters at the inlet of the Three Gorges Dam, this kind of housing is very scalable in that it can be moved easily and used as floating house boats. Additionally, if floating is not required, the 6 tank pontoon system resembles something that could be used for the storage of fresh, gray, and black water. Different materials would may need to be used if the pontoon tanks were to be used to store fresh water, but the concept of tanks directly under the house opens possibilities of running water in places where water delivery infrastructure has yet to be developed. Simple technologies such as filtering larvae beds, active sludge, and sedimentation processes enable simple agents to be added into the waste water tank that would allow proper discharge of the contaminated water back into the environment.

While the Shrimp Project does seem like a suitable solution for quick deployment refugee housing, it is reasonably expensive, partially due to the project’s emphasis on extremely rapid deployment. Additionally, the SHRIMP Project is also a one-size-fits-all kind of solution. This idea does make design simpler and production cheaper, but there is room for optimization by making slight modifications to the design depending on the region. Different materials are readily available in different parts of the world, and can be utilized as construction materials. Utilizing local resources can help reduce costs, which currently is a larger bottleneck than ease or speed of construction.

The I-Beam Design Pallet House takes a substantially different approach than the SHRIMP project. Their current designs utilize the relatively low cost and high availability of wooden cargo pallets to construct reasonably sized dwellings. These pallets can be assembled at a rate of 500-600 per day, per worker. Their initial design targeted people displaced due to war and natural disaster in Kosovo, but now they have developed a design for use in Southeast Asia, India, and Africa. The new Pallet House requires 300 standard size pallets, and can be constructed by a family of 6 in approximately 2-3 weeks. The structure is 1200 square feet, 2 stories, and features 5 rooms, which include a kitchen and indoor courtyard. The house could potentially be used a multiple family dwelling, which would make costs and labor more reasonable. The design also calls for wattle (a net woven from twigs and branches) and daub (a mixture of locally available mud) to be used to cover wall surfaces. Roofing materials are also left up to local availability, however pallets are used to construct a solid surface for which weather-resistant materials can be applied.

The Open Architecture Network is a new approach to developing housing for communities in need. With sponsorship from AMD, the Asia, Africa, and Americans challenge of the Open Architecture Network aims to approach problems through open competitions. These competitions are aimed at deciding which solutions would best suit the needs of a particular market segment. With rigid specifications, the alliance aims to produce design solutions that would benefit specific communities. These competitions promote interest in developing housing for developing countries, with nearly 350 entries to date for the Asia continent competition.

Even assuming that an ideal, low cost structure can be delivered and deployed in a developing community, other bottlenecks exists that could prevent the structure from improving the quality of life enough to warrant cost of construction. Some of the considerations of ultra low cost housing include road, water, sewage, and electricity accessibility in the area. For example, if water is not readily available in the area, would constructing a dwelling help the residents enough to rationalize costs to the local society, culture, and the residents themselves? This key question is being analyzed in many different areas of the world, and the outcome of this research is key to housing development in these countries. Some have concluded that infrastructure is required for the gains to be worth the costs, which is a completely reasonable argument, however the extent of required infrastructure is still yet to be determined.

So far the topic of low cost, permanent housing revolves on the goals of the project. What sort of sustainability should be reached? Should they be pre-assembled or assembled using local resources? Not surprisingly, the questions that are involved in designing housing revolve around locality. The specific features of a housing development must take into account the actual intentions of the dwelling. Key aspects such as sustainability, environmental impact, economic and social practicality all have to be a large part of what would go into developing a house for low income markets. Key issues such as water, sewage, and electricity - previously luxuries - are now all important considerations to take into account. Financially, housing can be more easily accessed. With money coming from the government to support such housing, how much of it is used and welcomed? The question of why people would want help to build a home arises when the actual housing is dramatically different than a conventional house, hut, or slum dwelling. Social issues arise when trying to coerce certain housing elements into separate settings. For example, how will a shipping container house fit in a setting in upstream Kerela where all other houses are made out of light twine? Economically, container/refugee housing can be made easily in first world countries. The problem is, there will be no real understanding of the socio-economical impact of a certain housing development in a developing commune until the housing is actually deployed. With any sort of technology analysis (especially housing), one will find that a clear cut result will seldom transpire. The diverse needs of people, combined with the oft overlooked aspect of "locality" determine how applicable a certain solution to a developing region can be. However, many attempts at trying to produce viable supply for the demand of reliable housing have shown how ingenious some projects can be.