Judging Home |
Second-Life Iraqi Housing: Temporary to Permanent (#44) |
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| Type of building: | Residential |
Entry Description | |
| The design I came up with consists of flat-packed, folding panels which are brought to the site by the marines along with the supplies they already bring. The structure can be quickly erected by the workforce of 36 marines during the night. This scenario was chosen due to the current situation of arriving by night, commandeering a home, fortifying the home with sandbags and weapons placements and having a defensible location for the morning. | |
| A discussion of design for adaptability and disassembly techniques incorporated: Each of the panels is designed to be quickly assembled. The entire structure must be up and enclosed in one night, so speed and ease of assembly are very important. Each of the panels is constructed around an aluminum framework which is detailed in such a way that one panel can simply be snapped into the next, similar to existing aluminum storefront systems. Wall panels snap together along the entire length of the sides of each panel and the roof panels snap together along the sides and also snap to the wall panels creating a stiff diaphragm to add stability to the system. The roof panels deploy in such a way that a membrane which comes pre-fastened to the panels can simply be wrapped up[ the parapet to form a weather tight space. The roof hatch snaps into place in a similar fashion attaching to a special roof panel which is designed to receive it. Once the wall panels are in place, the attached gabion cages can be unfolded and filled with sand, rock or rubble gathered from the site or harvested from destroyed buildings. The weight of the filled cages combines with the structural attachment to create a virtually impervious shelter. Once the roof panels have been fastened to each other and the walls, the tension cables running underneath and acting like a truss a can be tightened by simply turning the vertical supports. In this way the roof can become rigid and therefore able to be walked upon. The system has been designed to be easily and quickly assembled, but it can also be disassembled and moved with similar ease. Everything is able to be unsnapped and detached and folded back into flat panels for redeployment elsewhere. | |
| Environmental implications of entry: The environmental implications of the project are somewhat different than those of more traditional buildings. The building incorporates a large amount of thermal mass which helps in passive solar cooling in such extreme climates as Iraq. The thermal mass is achieved by manually filling gabion cages with whatever indigenous material that can be easily located. One of the real advantages comes with the inclusion of solar panels. The photovoltaic panels were an important addition because they not only respond to environmental needs, but also social needs. Currently in much of Iraq electric power is very difficult to come by. Lack of supply has lead to the rationing of electricity so that even for the homes which are attached to the power grid, electricity only comes for a few short hours each day. | |
| Economic or policy implications of entry: One of the greatest implications for this project is in regard to current policy in Iraq. The fact that we go in and essentially kick these families out of their homes so that our soldiers can have a place to stay is something that can be changed and really should not ever happen. Certainly there are other, more devastating results from the war, but this is one area that seems so easily remedied. The structures I have designed would put an end to this terrible practice and go a long way in healing the relations with our fellow citizens of the world. The shelters would be very expensive to create, but the U.S. is already spending an exorbitant amount on the war and by getting the defense department to fund the project with the goal of saving our soldiers lives, the end result will be a well built structure that will end up as a well built home for a deserving family. | |
| Explain how the entry advances lifecycle building education: As far as teaching opportunities are concerned this project offers something unique, the ability to actually assemble and disassemble the entire structure. Students would get a tremendous hands-on opportunity to build a full scale building and see first hand how building systems come together to form a whole. Each of the panels can be separated from each other and analyzed to learn about such aspects as prefabrication, modular building and innovative design. | |
| Additional information: The kit of parts consists of wall panels, window and door panels, roof panels and floor panels. Also included is a roof hatch for accessing the roof, photovoltaic panels to capture solar energy and two ladders to aid in construction and serve as a means of getting up to the roof. Once the structure is fully deployed it creates a safe, defensible space for the marines to live while they are in the area. The hope is that once the marines vacate the structure, they can leave it behind to be transitioned into permanent housing for displaced Iraqi families. | |
Entry Metrics | |
| Estimated building square footage: 900 square feet | |
| Tons of concrete reduced/conserved in your entry: 230 tons | |
| Explanation: Absolutely no concrete is used in the building, instead gabion cages are filled with material from the site and floor panels are made of aluminum grates. | |
| Tons of wood reduced/conserved in your entry: 0 | |
| Explanation: aluminum used for structure | |
| Tons of steel reduced/conserved in your entry: | |
| Explanation: no steel used | |
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| Tons of carpet reduced/conserved in your entry: | |
| Explanation: no carpet used | |
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| Tons of other material reduced/conserved in your entry: | |
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| Discussion of Green House Gas reduction implications of your entry: | |
| Measurement tool used to calculate GHG reduction: | |
| Website of GHG measurement tool used: http:// | |
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