The architecture of refugees

Abstract

It is widely known that global warming could lead to a humanitarian crisis. In fact, the environmental and climatic conditions needed by people to survive are being increasingly disrupted. Europe is facing the worst displacement crisis since World War ll, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). There are more than 68 million refugees living in camps in harsh environments and extreme climates. Shelters provided are mostly inadequate due to several factors, such as space, privacy or culture. In addition, the thermal performance and the conditions inside shelters could cause health problems such as thermal stress or, in the worst case scenario, they could lead to death. This is an extremely important task, as we need a quick scalable housing solution that can create a space that meets comfort conditions in the face of a crisis of unknown duration. Thus, this research is focused on the assessment of thermal conditions in shelters from different climatic zones: Jordan, Afghanistan and South Sudan, and it also explores the possibility of achieving better results in a different country; following a previous study of the conditions in each country in order to fully understand their basic needs.