Abstract
The most important questions about the design of refugees‟ habitats are simple ones. Can
architecture contribute to saving lives of refugees, and offering them enhanced quality of life,
how can architects repower the new techniques of sustainability to offer suitable, affordable,
smart, and practical, people-oriented places for refugees, and what characteristics should these
places have? These questions will be answered through three case studies that demonstrate
how sustainable design can be a key in solving the refugee crisis. Only by answering these
questions can we take a step forward on the way to a new perspective by leading a better
quality of life for refugees.
Architecture can contribute to saving lives and enhancing quality of life. Fabrication and
advancement in using computerized systems in building and construction could potentially
tighten the gap between need and desire, leading humanity to develop the life of homeless,
poor and unprivileged people. Nowadays, manmade conflicts have spread across countries.
With waves of mass displacements as collateral damage the world has witnessed the
displacement of millions of people across continents
Sustainable design solutions for refugee‟s habitats are the issue of this paper. It aims to
examine a variety of developed sustainable design criteria to create a dynamic, zero-energy
design, using local resources, which can adapt to the environment and human needs of
refugees, and help designers create productive settlements and produce more humanitarian
living environments.
The study provides a set of recommendations to visualize both present and future needs of
refugees to survive in new perspective of considering climate change and the lack of basic
world resources; opening an extended horizon for sustainable architecture to respond
positively to environmental disasters and react appropriately to sudden local and/or global
risks. |
