Edinburgh Napier University

  The ongoing research covers the Architectural design and construction of the humanitarian response during and after emergencies, specifically in the Middle East with forced migration. The project aims to develop a future transitional habitat that has to fulfil the minimum criteria for sheltering that meets the guidance of different international agencies. The project investigates, through visits to large refugee shelter camps, the issues relating to function, dignity, privacy and cultural aspects that are not currently provided.
The project will also aim to embed flexibility in the function and form of the habitat required to incorporate the ability for expansion and adaptability, while at the same time provide deconstruction for future movement of such habitats. Such a combined functional design and deconstruct approach provides a platform to give refugees the opportunity to return back to their original home country and deliver underpinning habitat whilst they rebuild their communities.
Due to Jordan’s long history in hosting refugees, its camps were taken as case studies. Field visits that contained focus group interviews were undertaken in the two largest Syrian refugee camps in Jordan; Zaa’tari and Azraq. Analysing the visits’ data led to a wider understanding for the current approach used in Jordan’s camps, issues about supporting very large groups of refugees and the habitat and societal challenges.
The research shall not only lead to designing a shelter prototype for the Middle East, but also to an enhanced methodology and approach for the sheltering response in Emergencies, whether they were natural disasters or man-made like wars.