Designing for Disaster Relief

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This project was full of "firsts" for me. I have never created a video like this before nor have I designed a space for people to gather after a massive natural disaster. I chose to design a temporary housing space for those affected by a hurricane, specifically Hurricane Katrina. The disastrous storm left millions of people with out a home, food, water and no place to go. Thousands of people went to the local football stadium but after only a couple days, the conditions were so horrible that people were forced to leave.


My idea was to design temporary housing for victims for the first week after the disaster. I decided to have the "go to spot" remain as the stadium because it is located next to the highway. This allows for helicopters full of supplies to easily access the victims. After Katrina, clean water and bathrooms were two of the main issues people had to face. To solve the water issue, I decided it would be a good idea to have a 3-day water supply inside the stadium. This would be able to keep people hydrated during the first few days until more water could be transported in. As far as restrooms go, I decided to use vacuum toilets that are seen in airplanes because they use minimal water. The water for these would be gray water collected and filtered from the hurricane. The water would be filtered through large ceramic pots and eventually used for the vacuum toilets. As far as living would go, I decided to have inflatable walls, which can easily be assembled, but also gives the victims privacy and a space they can call their own for the next couple days. All of the mini homes would be placed on platforms in case of flooding. People would also get an emergency kit that is equipped with some non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, radios and water.


Designing a temporary home for victims of a hurricane was definitely a new challenge for me, but it really got me thinking of different ways to go about designing spaces for people. New materials were key to this project. Because these people have lost everything, it was really important for me to give them a place that they could call their own, even if it was only for a week.