Young architects from Poland - Zuzanna Boberek and Piotr Gajdka received a special mention in the international competition Disaster Relief Shelter - Reinventing the tents. The task was to create a temporary modular shelter for people affected by climate disaster, war, or those seeking asylum. The Fan House is a versatile housing module that can stand anywhere, and its walls fold down like a fan.
The challenge of the Disaster Relief Shelter - Reinventing the tents competition organized by Mango Architecture was to design a portable shelter that is easy to maintain and can be used on a larger scale. As a result, the shelter could be deployed for use in any disaster-affected area of the world that lacks basic amenities. The designed facility was also intended to help restore a sense of dignity and security to victims of disaster (war, climate, political).
The Fan House project received a special mention
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
temporary universal shelter
The task addressed to the participants was to create a self-contained, modular unit, which is a temporary shelter. Consideration had to be given to larger-scale production using minimal materials and ease of storage. This would allow the design to become a versatile emergency shelter that could be used in all conditions.
Designers were to consider a basic facility area of about 18 square meters, but with the possibility of expanding to 40 square meters. The design should be easy and quick to assemble (up to six hours maximum), on virtually any terrain - with no excavation, meaning that its construction does not cause soil erosion problems or create additional damage to the site. The organizers stressed that the facilities, depending on the water harvesting solutions, could include a universal sink and shower. However, it was important to keep in mind that all features are to be inexpensive and easy to install. When the shelters are no longer needed, they are to be: quickly dismantled and moved to another location.
Fan House can be easily built and dismantled
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
project from Poland with a special mention
The projects submitted from around the world were evaluated by a jury of architects consisting of: Neelam Manjunath, Yatin Pandya, Justyna Kowalik, Mahesh Bangad. The jury awarded three main prizes: first prize for the Narana Shelter project of the Indonesian team consisting of: Nadya Fatin Nur Rahma Sultan, Ariq Dhia Athallah, Gusti Ayu Putu Nadya K. Second prize went to Amphibious Abode by a team from India: Gargi Kiran Gokhale, Atharva Sujit Goghale, Nidhi Nitin Deshpande. The third prize went to Kavan Doctor from India.
The jury also awarded fifteen special prizes. Among the projects from France, India, the United States and Colombia was a project from Poland - Fan house by Zuzanna Boberek and Piotr Gajdka.
Fan House was inspired by a fan
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
Fan House
The building depicted in the project is a temporary shelter for people who have been forced to leave their current place of residence due to conflict or persecution. It is also an asylum for climate refugees who will face the negative effects of global warming in the near future and will be obliged to look for a new home. Fan House was designed as a universal housing module that can stand anywhere. Its name refers to the characteristic way of folding fans, which inspired the idea for the construction of the walls, the authors explain.
The walls of the building are constructed of dyed cardboard
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
The architects designed a simple system, consisting of eight repeatable elements. This prevents mistakes in their manufacture and packaging for transport. Such a solution also simplifies assembly at the destination and reduces the time needed for this activity. Also, assembly does not require specialized tools or the use of special technical skills. The components can be assembled into a single-person basic module or a multi-person or even multi-family shelter. The basic module is created in a square plan of 3.6 square meters - it can also be used as a sleeping capsule for one person. The basic components can be combined with each other in any way, and the wall elements can be used as external or internal partitions, giving users great freedom to create more complex layouts with larger areas.
The layout of the four apartments is centered around a common atrium
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
The authors presented two variants in the project: a 19.6-square-meter apartment designed for five people and a layout of four apartments for eleven people. This layout covers an area of 39.6 square meters and is centered around an atrium accessible to all families.
Both solutions include kitchen and bathroom spaces - they are not connected to the sewage system due to the temporary nature of the building, so waste water must be disposed of by the tenants, the authors add.
Fan House is easy to build and allows rainwater harvesting
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
ease of construction and individualization
For the construction of Fan House, the architects used lightweight materials, easily available in any latitude and recyclable after use, as well as eco-friendly technologies. The main raw material for the construction of the walls is cardboard, whose water-resistant properties have been enhanced by using a special insulating coating called Liquiguard, which is an alternative to wax covering that prevents the product from being recycled. The individual layers of cardboard are layered on top of each other to create multi-chambered partitions, and the air stored in them provides thermal insulation for the shelter's interior. The pillars are made of aluminum, and a drain pipe is placed in the center, bringing rainwater from roofs with slopes arranged in a "funnel" to an underground tank. The water treated thanks to carbon filters will be used by the shelter's residents for bathing, housekeeping, or watering plants.
The design allows the elements to be assembled into uniquely shaped arrangements
© Zuzanna Boberek, Piotr Gajdka
Due to the fact that people leaving their permanent place of residence under duress experience many difficulties and traumas, we introduced - in accordance with the guidelines of environmental psychology - simple solutions to humanize and individualize the architecture. The first is the aforementioned ability to assemble elements into complex arrangements of unique shapes, and the second is color. The cardboard used in the construction of the walls can be colored in the mass or surface painted. In the project we presented a two-color variant, using the natural color of the material and a pink h ue associated with the chromatic profile of the landscape, the architects add.
