New Ideas for Recyclable Housing is an architectural design competition organised by SIA in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity, with prize money graciously sponsored by the Lee Foundation. It serves as one of the flagship events for promoting the theme of ArchiFest ’09: Architecture for Humanity.
The many natural disasters that the world experiences every year pose a unique challenge to housing-solution providers. In most disasters, residential properties will be destroyed, resulting in masses of homeless victims. The immediate response has always been to provide some sort of temporary shelters – typically tents of all shapes and sizes. This is usually followed by the provision of semi-permanent structures such as wooden houses, or Styrofoam-sandwiched panel houses. Permanent housing solutions will be implemented many months after the disaster first struck. For example, hundreds and thousands of people in Sichuan now live in rows of Styrofoam-sandwiched panel houses, waiting for permanent houses to be built.
The challenge is to find a design for a temporary or semi-permanent shelter unit, which can also be incorporated as part of a permanent housing solution. The material used for the temporary or semi-permanent housing solution can thus be recycled into permanent use, resulting in great cost saving, and environmental protection.
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Organised by Singapore Institute of Architects & Habitat for Humanity Singapore.
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