Conflicts and natural disasters pose special challenges to architects and engineers faced with the need to design temporaryccommodation for the homeless. It was a challenge that exercised the mind of Buckminster Fuller, whose mass-produced metallic Dymaxion Deployment Units were used by troops during the second world war. But they were used on well-prepared sites. Today, emergency shelter is synonymous with physical conditions where architectural precision and order are rarely possible. Versatility and toughness are critical. The work of one NGO, Shelter Centre, is proving that only carefully thought out, thoroughly tested prototypes can produce robust, easily erected ‘emergency transitional family shelters’. For decades, shelters supplied on a large scale as part of humanitarian relief programmes have not always protected their occupants effectively; sometimes, they have been useless. The two modular shelter designs produced by Shelter Centre’s Dr Tom Corsellis (with Henry Travers, Elizabeth Babister, Allan McRobbie), are part of a process that will lead to the development of formalised international shelter standards that set out strict technical and performance requirements. Which means that aid agencies will be able to specify shelters that they know will be up to the job.

The shelters are designed to provide a basic refuge tough enough to be adapted, easily maintained and upgraded by families during their periods of displacement. In some cases, this can mean shelter-living for several years. ‘Every month, Shelter Centre receives new designs for emergency shelters from major manufacturers and innovators,’ Corsellis explained. ‘But very few have first-hand experience of populations affected by disaster, or a detailed understanding of how these shelters are used, their thermal and material requirements, and the logistical problems. In the past, the typical supply of canvas tents has produced significant problems in procurement, stockpiling and logistics. Weight of fabric, and degradation by damp and ultraviolet light are serious issues.’

The Shelter Module project, led by Shelter Centre, develops prototypes that demonstrate to manufacturers that the Shelter Standards currently under development can be met. The Shelter Standards project, also led by Shelter Centre, and developed through a Consortium, is currently developing common standards and indicators for family shelters with the aim of improving the appropriateness and coordination of response following conflicts and natural disasters. The Standards Consortium currently includes government donor arms, UN agencies and international NGOs.