Fan House - a temporary shelter design awarded in an international competition
Piotr Gajdka, a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology, and Zuzanna Boberek, a student of the Kielce University of Technology, received a special distinction in the international competition Disaster Relief Shelter - Reinventing the tents.
Their task was to create a universal temporary shelter for people who, as a result of persecution, war or natural disasters, found themselves in a crisis of homelessness. The project of young architects from Poland called Fan House is a housing module in the form of a fan that can be placed anywhere. - In the assumptions of the competition, the facility had to be universal enough to be able to stand in any disaster-stricken area that lacks basic amenities. It was also about restoring the personal space and sense of dignity to the victims - says Piotr Gajdka.
The shelter had to meet many technical conditions. It was to be modular, so as to enable the expansion from 18 m2 to 40 m2, depending on the needs and size of the family. It should be easy to mass-produce with little material. Due to high demand, it had to be easy to store. Its installation should not exceed 6 hours on almost any terrain, without excavation. The shelter should also be easy to disassemble and move to another location.
Lightweight materials, easily available in any latitude and recyclable after use, can be used for the Fan House. In the case of the walls, the main building material is cardboard, whose water resistant properties have been enhanced by using a special Liquiguard insulation coating as an alternative to wax coating which prevents the product from being recycled.
In our project, we were looking for a material that would be generally available all over the world, ecological, light and easy to transport. Paper perfectly matched these criteria, but the question arose, how to make walls made of paper durable and have good thermal insulation properties? We decided to fold the cardboard surface into a fan and then put it on an identical element thanks to the previously prepared cuts. Then we duplicated the construction and put one element into the other again. Thanks to this, we obtained a wall consisting of four layers of cardboard. The whole was rigid, and inside we obtained air voids which improved the thermal insulation properties of the partition," explains Piotr Gajdka.
Another characteristic element of the design was the sloping roof. - Thanks to the sloping roof and pipes installed in aluminium columns, it is possible to collect rainwater from the roof and then drain it to special reservoirs located in the ground," adds the architect.
The jury evaluating the project noted the use by designers of such a common material as paper. - Another factor that could have contributed to the distinction of our shelter is the implementation of ecological solutions that will reduce the carbon footprint of its production and transport. Another aspect in favor of our work is the use of solutions in the field of environmental psychology, such as the possibility of personalizing the color of the walls or freedom in the composition of modules - emphasizes Piotr Gajdka.
Young architects decided to participate in the competition due to the very interesting topic proposed by the organizers. - We wanted to face the challenge of designing a small, modular space that is to serve the victims of wars and disasters. Secondly, we wanted to effectively use our free time and increase our design competences and knowledge of shelter design - adds Piotr Gajdka. Teams from all over the world, including India, the United States, France, China and Columbia, took part in the Disaster Relief Shelter - Reinventing the tents competition organised by Mango Architecture. The project by Zuzanna Boberek and Piotr Gajdka was the only distinguished project from Poland.
