Circular Economy in Emergency Housing: Eco-Efficient Prototype Design for Subasi Refugee Camp in Turkey and Maicao Refugee Camp in Colombia

In recent years, there has been an upsurge in the number of forced displacements due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, and pandemics, which has favoured an increase in the number of temporary accommodations. Although the provision of shelter after an emergency situation is one of the priorities of humanitarian aid, the reality is that the conditions in which people live in a situation of forced displacement are absolutely precarious and overcrowded. Nowadays, this type of housing tends to have a short lifespan, deepening the environmental impact and the generation of waste. Likewise, added to this great problem is the linear economic system implemented worldwide, which also causes a high rate of waste.

This investigation develops an eco-efficient design protocol that determines the basic premises in any emergency situation, therefore avoiding the precarious nature to which those in forced displacement are exposed. Moreover, the research investigates different constructive solutions that can respond to situations of natural catastrophes or humanitarian disasters where emergency housing is needed as well as the possible alternatives from the point of view of circular economy. Eco-efficient and environmentally correct solutions are sought, which can be adaptable to the different scenarios where emergency housing may be needed, thus creating a rapid, easy, functional, and environmentally correct architecture, adaptable to these types of situations.

The study shows that the factors that characterize emergency architecture can be an example of where the issues around the sustainability factor are applied in a practical way. The main objectives of this study are to develop an eco-efficient design protocol which determines the basic premises in any emergency situation and to find eco-efficient and environmentally correct solutions, adaptable to different scenarios, which have similar climatic characteristics, and where emergency housing may be needed, thus creating a type of ephemeral architecture but sensitive to the user to whom it is intended and in accordance with the optimal conditions of habitability.