ABSTRACT

Who are refugees, and how does

one become one? How does a
country with a glorious past get
reduced to debris of devastation?
What does a refugee require, a
house or a home? How can
architects deal with the challenge to
provide home for people who have
lost their families?

BACK TO THE ROOTS

A Design Report
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Study of Syrians in Syria. .................................................................................................................... 3
Demographics ............................................................................................................................... 3
Population ................................................................................................................................. 3
Age Structure............................................................................................................................. 3
Religion ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Syrian Refugee Data .......................................................................................................................... 4
Age and Gender of Refugees:......................................................................................................... 4
People in need:.............................................................................................................................. 5
Education .................................................................................................................................. 6
Shelter ....................................................................................................................................... 7
Health........................................................................................................................................ 8
Internally Displaced People:........................................................................................................... 8
Damage Assessment ...................................................................................................................... 8
Syrians in Turkey ............................................................................................................................... 9
Age & Sex Rates of Syrian in Turkey: ............................................................................................ 10
Distribution of Syrians by Turkish Provinces ................................................................................. 10
Refugees in Hatay ........................................................................................................................ 11
Refugees in Reyhanli.................................................................................................................... 11
The Vision ....................................................................................................................................... 11
Hatay-The Lost Province .............................................................................................................. 12
Külliyye............................................................................................................................................ 13
Planning of a Külliyye ................................................................................................................... 14
Site Development ............................................................................................................................ 15
Unit Development ........................................................................................................................... 16
Cluster Development ....................................................................................................................... 17
Climate and Geographic Responsive Design ..................................................................................... 18
Construction strategies.................................................................................................................... 19
Management Strategies .................................................................................................................. 20
Safety and security .......................................................................................................................... 21
Safety and Security in Our Design ................................................................................................ 22
Sustainable Features ....................................................................................................................... 23
Sustainable Window .................................................................................................................... 23
 Sewage waste treatment and energy generation ......................................................................... 24
Rain Water Harvesting ................................................................................................................. 24
Beehive Biomimetic Technique: ................................................................................................... 25
Cactus Body Biomimetic Skin Technique: ..................................................................................... 26
Future Vision ................................................................................................................................... 26
Conclusion....................................................................................................................................... 29
Introduction

What is the first thing that comes in our mind when we

think of Syria, one of the oldest civilisations of the world
with an abounding geography, vivid culture and diverse
ethnicities. The identity of Syria has been shadowed by
the years of war and unrest dooming over its territory.
Since the onset of war, the war has, claimed the lives of
countless civilians, forced them to flee their homes and
seek shelter in the most unfamiliar of places. While the
bulk of the refugees have fled to neighbouring countries,
many still remain stranded on the borders. Countless
civilians have lost their lives in search of a better future
they never got to live. Those who managed to live, border
camps are the only future and world they know. For those
living there, these camps that are hastily constructed has
become a city itself, acting both as safe haven and a
prison. Due to the constant influx of the refugees, these
shelters expand unplanned depreciating the living
conditions of those living there. Figure 1- Map of Syria

Study of Syrians in Syria.

Before we study the data of the Syrian refugees, it’s important to understand the situation of Syrians in Syria to
better understand the gravity of the crisis that has befallen them.

Demographics
Population
The Syrian population is estimated to be about 24,504,000 out of which 21,124,000 are considered permanent
inhabitants. Approximately 53 percent of the Syrian population resided in urban areas such as Damascus,
Aleppo, Homs and Hama, which are the county’s largest cities.

However, the population of Syria is experiencing decline due to mass migration of people.

Age Structure
The Syrian population comprises of 33.1% people who are less than 15 years of age, 20.2% of people belong to
15-24 years of age, 42.7% are between 25 and 54 years of age making up the mass, and lastly 3.9% people are
aged 65 years and above. Majority of the populace are less than 25 years of age.

Religion
Muslims make up the majority of Syrian population with about 87% of the total population being Muslims.
Among Muslims, estimated 74% are Sunni Muslims and the remaining 13% are Shia Muslims such as Alawi
and Ismailis.

Christians account for 10% of the total Syrian populace and the remaining 3% are Druze.
Syrian Refugee Data

The crisis in Syria, which began in 2011 has caused widespread displacement in Syria, which is one of the worst
humanitarian crises. According to UNHCR, more than 50 percent of refugees only come from three countries
namely Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan. Among these countries majority of the refugees come from Syria.
Following the unrest in the Syrian territory, approximately 5.5 million Syrians have fled their country.

Majority of the influx of the Syrian refuges has been in neighbouring Turkey with 50% Syrian refuges seeking
shelter there. After Turkey, Lebanon houses 25% of refuges, followed by Jordon that tends to 12% of total
Syrians seeking shelter. Syrians refuges are also present in small percentage in Northern Iraq (5%), Egypt (3%)
and the rest have dispersed to several other countries.

Figure 2- Movement of Syrian Refugees

Age and Gender of Refugees:

According to the data provided by UNHCR, the estimated percentage of people- up to 4 years of age is 18%,
from 5 to 11 years of age is 21%, between age 12 to 17 is 13%, age 18-59 is 45% and age 60 and above is 3%.

Out of total refugee population, 49 percent are males and 51 percent are females.
Figure 3- Age and gender of syrians

Based on the above data, the majority of the refugees, i.e., 52 percent are younger than 18 years of age.

People in need:
The crisis has left people homeless, forced them to displace to any place deemed safer. The displacement has
left people lacking for the most basic of needs and in want of immediate humanitarian support. According to the
available data, around 11.7 million Syrian refugees are in need of humanitarian assistance, of which 5 million
people are deemed to be in acute need.

These people in need involves 5.9 million females, 5.8 million males and 5 million children (out of which 1.3
million and 3.7 million are younger than 5 and 18 years of age respectively). Apart from that, half a million
people are elderly (over 59 years of age) and 1.3 million people are disabled.

These people are deprived of all the basic amnesties required in day to day lives. Despite the sustained efforts of
humanitarian actors, the demands still need to be met as the crisis keeps on increasing exponentially, increasing
the people in need of assistance. The number of people in need has only raised from 2012 to 2016, increasing
from 1 million in June 2012 to 13.5 million as recorded in September 2016. The numbers did see a small dip to
total 11.5 million refugees in need.

Based on the specific requirements of the refugees, it’s been found that

1.5 million people are in need of WASH assistance.

4.7 million people are in need of shelters.

6.5 million people are in need of food security.

6.9 million people are in need of civil documentation and protection.

4.8 million are in need of treatment for communicable diseases.

2.1 million children are in need of education.

Figure 4- Breakdown of needs of people

Education
In Syria, before the conflict, the attendance rate of schools was quite high because of free public education. 72
percent of Syrian were enrolled in schools before the conflict. War and displacement have forced Syria children
out of schools and education remains out of reach for the Syrian children. It’s estimated that 2.1 million children
are out of school and 1.3 million risk dropping out.

Total children and teachers in need in Syria are about 5,976,626, among which 5,854,654 are children in need
and 121,972 are teachers in need.

The governate with highest children and teacher in need is Aleppo, followed by Idlib, rural Damascus, Hama,
and Damascus.
Figure 5- Education needs in Syria

Shelter
The outpour of refugees has led to unavailability of shelter and camps. The occupied camps are overflowing
with people and the living units are overpopulated. Hence, the shelter situation for Syrian refugees continue to
worsen due the lack of sufficient camps for refugees. Apart from that, the shelters that are available are
inadequate in their liveable conditions. The refugees are also incapable of repairing and rehabilitating their
shelters and most can’t afford to pay rents.

Figure 6- Shelter challenges

Health
Healthcare is the rising concern for the Syria refugees inside as well as outside of Syria as well. The attacks on
people in Syria and the unavailability of proper medicinal properties is raising alarm for the wellbeing of the
Syrians, especially children and elderly. The poor conditions of the camp, as well as the lack of basic amenities
leads to volatile spread of communicable diseases. Due to under-developed infrastructure of camps, people have
died due to preventable reasons.

Apart from that, the existing health care centres are also at a risk of becoming targets. As of 2108, 142 health
care services were attacked that resulted in 102 deaths. This, and unavailability of medicinal resources disrupt
the working of heath care facilities. It’s been found that 46 percent of health facilities were either partially
functional or completely defunct.

Internally Displaced People:

The unrest has caused people to move to safer places. This has caused them to be displaced in their own
country. The total number of IDP movements as recorded in 2017 has been 2.8 million and 1.6 million in 2018.

The majority has been from Idlib and Aleppo with 641,077 and 640,790 respectively in 2-17 while the number
increased from Idlib in 2018 with 610,337 movements, IDP movement saw a decrease in Aleppo to 472,024.

Figure 7- IDP movement of Syrian refugees

Damage Assessment
The majority of the buildings damaged were in the province of Aleppo, followed closely by Eastern Ghouta.
Other provinces include Homs, Ar-Raqqa, Hama, Deir-ez-Zor, Yarmouk and Hajar Aswad and Al Zabadani,
etc.
Figure 8- Damage assessment of Syrian provinces

Syrians in Turkey
Turkey receives majority of Syrian refugees while also receiving other refugees from Iraq and Afghanistan.
There are approximately 3.2 million Syrian refugees present in Turkey. There are around 23 refugee camps
across Turkey that are usually overpopulated. Apart from them, many of the refugees live outside the camps as
well in rented accommodation.
Age & Sex Rates of Syrian in Turkey:
According to the data by Directorate of Migration Management, Turkey, number (in thousand) of Syrians aged
0-4 is 383. Number of people belonging to school age (5-17) is 867 and working age (15-65) is 1,657. People
above age 66 are 48 in number.

Men make about 53.3 percent and are 1,482 and female constitute 46.7% of total population and are 1,301 in
number.

Distribution of Syrians by Turkish Provinces

Syrian refugees are scattered all over Turkey, but Istanbul has the bulk of Syrian refugees numbering up to
330.000 refugees, followed by Gaziantep with 253,222 refugees, Sanliurfa with 240,827 and Hatay with
204,724 refugees.

86.5 percent of the total refugees present live outside the camp and 13.5% live inside the camps.
Refugees in Hatay
Due to the shared border and past history, Hatay is the main crossing point of refugees from Turkey.
The refugees are also present in bulk in this province.

Figure 9- Shelters in Hatay

Refugees in Reyhanli
Reyhanli plays an important role in the refugee politics in the Turkey due to the bombing in 2013 which was
blamed on Syrians.

Majority of the refugees present in Reyhanli are male making upto 51%, followed by 30% of females. Orphans
constitute 10%, widows 4.6% and elderly 4% of the refugees present in Reyhanli. du

The Vision
The differences have never been wider between Turkey and Syria. With war dooming over their homeland,
Syrians are forced to seek refugee with their neighbouring country Turkey. But their presence has not especially
been acknowledged well by the Turkish people who aren’t keen on receiving Syrians, which is reflected in their
saying Neither the sweet from Damascus nor the face of an Arab. It seems that to spot any point of similarity
between these two countries, the history must be revisited. The last time Turkey and Syria were together was
under the rule of Ottoman empire.

Syria was a part of Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918. As opposed to today’s sentiments, the relations between
Turks of Ottoman Empire and Syrians wasn’t formidable, rather Syrians were tremendously respected as the
speakers of Arabic, the language of Quran. The relations were so good that the city of Damascus was made the
main entrepôt to Mecca, which elevated the importance of this city. The administrative system was not
burdensome to Syrians, hence peace and stability existed between the local Syrians and the Turkish Pashas who
ruled them.
Despite being impoverished under Ottoman Empire, Syria still attracted traders from West and was the hub for
spices and textiles. With traders, came missionaries and traders as well. Later they raised clamour to protect
Christians of Syria that resulted in them receiving some territorial right which paved the way to a certain level of
autonomy in the region.

With Ottoman Empire in decline in 18th century, European began to consolidate power by exploiting the
weaknesses of the empire. During World War 1, British and French diplomats decided to break Ottoman Empire
into zones. The four hundred years of Ottoman rule ended in Syria in 1918 when French took control of what is
modern day Syria sans Damascus and Aleppo which were seized by the British.

The rule of British and French wasn’t well received by the Syrians, who vehemently opposed their control.
Between 1925 to 1927, Syrians started revolting against the French to establish their independence but the
French managed to suppress the uprising. In 1939, Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence was signed, attempted
at negotiate freedom of Syria. But the military and economic power was still in the hands of the French.

During World War II, in 1940, Syria fell under the control of Axis Powers due to the defeat of French by
Germans. However, British and Free French troops almost immediately occupied Syria again in 1941. This was
again met with resistance by Syrians, which finally forced the French to withdraw their troops and Syria
officially became an independent country in 1946.

Freedom, however remained an elusive concept in Syria, which has only seen instability and tribulations. Syria
has been under Bashar-al-Assad and the ruling Ba’ath party since 2000, who has been accused of corruption and
repression of political differences. Syrian people have been protesting against him and demanding much-needed
political reforms and democratic rights. The protestors were met with widespread arrests, interrogations, tortures
in a bit to silent any voice of dissent and any form of protest, so as much that the cities considered anti-regime
were even bombed. The worst came in Syria in 2011 when the country was engulfed in a civil war against the
dictatorship of Bashar-al-Assad. The war aggravated the situation so much, that once lively and flourishing
cities of Syria has been reduced to rubble. Countless people including children were killed and people were
forced to leave their homes and seek shelter in safer places.

Hatay-The Lost Province

Located on the east Mediterranean coast, Hatay, a province in south Turkey, bordered by Syria in south is one of
Turkey’s most culturally diverse region. Hatay which was once an important site in the Silk Road, is a melting
pot of history and culture with its mixture of Arab and Turkish speaking people, devotees of diverse faiths, and
remnants of centuries of civilisations.

After the collapse of Ottoman Empire, Hatay was a part of Syria under French Mandate until 1939, after which
it became an independent republic for a short period of time. On July 1939, by a plebiscite, Hatay joined the
Republic of Turkey. However, this didn’t prevent Syria to give up its claim on Hatay, but it was never
frequently brought up.

As of now, Hatay remains a province claimed by two countries as their own. Due to its close proximity to Syria,
it’s seen the lion’s share of refugees pouring from Syria. However, people of Hatay are not pleased to see the
outpour of outsiders in their homes. Based on the surveys conducted, majority of the Turkish people would
rather have refugees out of their areas. The feelings of displeasure were further exacerbated by the Reyhanli
Bombings of 2013. Despite a decent amount of Arabic speaking people in Hatay, owing to the fact that it used
to be a part of Syria, their sentiments didn’t subside.

All is not lost however, as the forgotten aspect of history that was once a unifying time of Syria and Turkey, and
thus Hatay can be revisited to recognise a sense of similarity that was once shared. The displeasure towards
Syrian Arabs was not always present which can be inferred from the period of Ottoman Empire when Syrians
were venerated and elevated in ranks. The fact that this deference once existed gives us hope that it is possible to
evoke those feelings again. The sense of brotherhood instilled by the common religion Islam, can be a thread to
tie them together. Hate is a manufactured concept, bought about by the politics of schismatic and power-hungry
elements. No matter how different and distant the Syrians feel to Turks, both of them once shared a common
history. If anything, it bears testimony of the fact that boundaries are the baseless lines meant to divide and
never stands the test of time.
Külliyye
Derived from the Arabic word kul meaning ‘all’, külliyye is a unique Turkish architectural concept that is a
complex of buildings spread around a mosque that includes a madrasa, community kitchen, bathhouse, markets,
bakeries, etc. The külliyye were usually founded, maintained by religious institutions known as waqf. The
construction of the külliyye was started by Seljuqs in Anatolia and the buildings continued to develop the
domed and in a central plan structure.

The concept of Külliyye developed for the interpretation of mosque as not just a structure wherein to offer
prayers, but as a place for community which includes various activities like eating together, teaching religion to
the young and housing the less fortunate.

The bulk of the külliyye were designed by one of the most famous Turkish architects belonging to Ottoman
Empire, Mimar Sinan, who was responsible to plan and design majority of the building sin the empire. Majority
of the külliyyes are found in Istanbul. All the other Külliyyes built by other architects follow the example set by
Sinan. The important characteristics of these külliyyes were that the design focus was on the mosque as the main
religious centre. They were situated around the important locations of the city. Also, they were either build on
hills and sloped lands, or on coasts or periphery of the city which was instrumental in developing landscape of
the city and easily recognisable.

Under Ottoman empire law, these külliyyes belonged to the sultan and were built either for him or for his family
members. Therefore, they had a say as well in their design.

Külliyyes held especially an important position in Ottoman society, uniting the residents with the several areas
of their vicinity that had various functional purposes. The külliyyes acted as centres that represented the actual
identity of the city. Külliyye were in abundance in many cities under ottoman empire and were the considered
cultural, commercial, religious and educational hubs. They were also considered symbol of power of ottoman
empire.

Figure 10- Example of a Kulliyye

Planning of a Külliyye
Generally, a typical külliyye would have in centre square around which the buildings would sprawl. Typically,
on the centre of focus, mosques were placed, usually west of main square. Adjacent to mosques could be found
a madrasa and a clinic. Entering the külliyye, would be a market place, usually placed north east of the mosque,
followed by soup-kitchen. On the east of the mosque and the main square, after market and kitchen would be a
guesthouse or an inn. It would be, in some case be followed by a pond in the southeast direction.

Our design is influence by the concept on külliyye which we have recreated in order to evoke a sense of past
belonging and pride for the glorious architecture of that time. Through this design we aim to not only provide a
living place for the Syrian refugees but to do that with a sense of brotherhood Ahiliq that the Turkish were proud
of and integrate the Turkish people of Hatay with the Syrian people.

Figure 11- Planning of a typical külliyye

Site Development

From the site context, we draw two axes, major on the longer side and minor on
the shorter side. The two axes intersect the site at a node, from which the
functioning of külliyye is derived. Around the node, our settlement lies.

On the north side, we have our marketplaces which is a source for intermingling
of people and leads to integration. On the south side, we have the settlements
where the refugees live.

Inspired from the planning of the külliyye, out layout will incorporate the same
elements. According to the context of our site, we take a point that will act as the
centre of the külliyye around which the planning will take place. The orientation
of the spaces will be same as the orientation of the layout of the külliyye
mentioned before. Due to restrains in site, the soup kitchen will be tilted to adjust
in the site and the guesthouse or the inn will be shifted south accordingly. In the
original plan, adjacent to mosque, is a clinic followed by a madrasa in the south.
The clinic will be removed from its position and exact mirror image will be
shifted towards north while the madrasa will be shifted towards the mosque. It
should be noted that in the külliyye planning, there used to distance between the
various sectors, but in our design the sectors are close together.
Figure 12- Planning of our site

Unit Development

The interior designing of shelter has been done according to each targeted specific group and under proper
planning. The aspects of planning are:

1. TYPE A: 5mx5m dwelling units (for bigger family)

2. TYPE B: 3.5mx5m dwelling units (for normal family)
3. TYPE C: 3.5mx5m dwelling units (for elderly and children)
4. TYPE B: 3.5mx5m dwelling units (for widows and children)

Type A

Type B

Type C & Type D

Figure 13- Unit formation

TYPE A
The shelter is expanded (from standard shelter of 3.5mx5m) according to the requirements of 8 people living
comfortably maintaining the proper space distribution according to each resident.

TYPE B
A standard shelter is provided to a family of 4-5 people, giving each resident adequate space for living.

TYPE C
A standard shelter is given to 4-5 elderly people and children, giving each resident adequate space for living,
while also providing open space to the elder citizens and specific interior spaces for the children to play around.

TYPE D
A standard shelter is given to 4-5 widows and children, giving each resident adequate space for living, also
giving private space for the widows, ensuring their privacy and safety and specific interior spaces for the
children to play around.

Cluster Development

The primary method of developing a sustainable dwelling unit is originating from a courtyard (square of 9sqm).
The vertices of the square are further extended to develop the transitional shelter cluster which has four dwelling
units (TYPE A, TYPE B, TYPE C TYPE D).

This method of development of dwelling units from the vertices of the courtyards ensures adequate space
utilisation and accessibility to courtyards from each unit which ensures private open space for the 4 respective
units.
This 4 dwelling units is further mirrored along the edge of TYPE A shelter which is then further mirrored in
order to form a large square cluster having 4 primary cluster (each having 4 dwelling units).

This method ensures that not only each primary cluster have its own private open courtyard but also all these 4
primary cluster have their large open courtyard (square of 36sqm.).

This large courtyard acts as a semi-private open courtyard for the interaction of the people living in each
cluster’s dwelling units ensuring the inclusion and interaction among the residents of the transitional shelters.

This large courtyard also ensures the proper wind flow within the space synthesising the optimum use of
existing wind-flow i.e. from the southwest to the northeast. Thus, making it a sustainable passive cooling
method through cross ventilation within the design strategies.

Climate and Geographic Responsive Design

The transitional shelters on the site is oriented in such a way that the maximum benefit of the existing area flow
is obtained, i.e. from southwest to northeast and to ensure the desired amount of air is being pass through
courtyards and also from the cluster’s courtyard.

The material used in the construction of Palmyra, mosque and other public spaces is limestone, that has high
thermal mass which ensures heat insulation according to the climate of Reyhanli and is highly adaptive to the
geographic context of the region leading to the sustainable response to its usage.
Figure 14- Palmyra

The farm land is placed in the middle of the site in order to provide the maximum sunrays to the farm land for
the adequate growth of the cropland.

Figure 15 Farmland

Construction strategies
Following are the strategies implemented in the construction process:

• The first step is to excavate the site for building the proposed transitional site. (1 hour)
• Then foundation is then placed into the ground at 30 cm of depth. (1 hour)
• The wooden column is then placed onto the foundation spaces. (2 hour)
• The mud along with the terracotta is laid on the floor. (2 hour)
• The wall of corrugated metal sheet is then fastened by nuts and bolts on the wooden columns and a
proper vertical wall is then built. (2 hour)
• Then the roof is constructed with the same corrugated metal sheet and then fixed with nuts and bolts. (2
hour)
Figure 16 Construction of shelter

Thus, in this way the transitional shelter is constructed from the basic raw materials like corrugated metal sheet,
wood, mud to the fully functional sustainable shelter unit in total of 10 hours duration.

Management Strategies
Through the design of the shelter, refugees should be enabled a better life and ways to live their lives. An
attempt has been made to reconstruct the lives of the refugees by making sure a close to ideal society is
designed. It’s of extreme importance, therefore, that the refugees engage in activities that would ensure that their
lives get back on track.

There are some important spaces in our design that are associated with activities ensuring socialising and
integration.

• We have provided animal shelters and farmland for various agricultural activities to safeguard the
livelihood of the refugees. This will help to inculcate a sense of independence and adeptness in face of
dependency on aids and assistance by host countries and humanitarian organisations. It will also ensure
 that the refugees are a part of economy generation as opposed to them being considered someone who
lives off it.
• The design also includes mosques and multifaith spaces that are valuable spaces for people to meet and
engage. Mosques play an important role in developing a sense of community and brotherhood among
those who come to offer prayer, forgetting their differences. Multifaith places are important to ensure
social inclusion of people from faiths in minority.
• Bazaars or marketplaces are instrumental in the integration of people from various places especially, as
is our intent, in the integration of Syrians and Turks. Marketplace serves as the point of all the
important engagements and interactions. We take this opportunity to infuse a sense of familiarity and
brotherhood among the refugees and native inhabitants.
• There are also emergency units in case of overpopulation or sudden influx of refugees. As in the case
of almost every shelter camp, people are in abundance but the space available for them is very little.
Thus, they are forced to stay in cramped up spaces, filling unit with people more than its capacity
which is detrimental to their health and wellbeing. Furthermore, these emergency units are also made to
better equip shelter camps in case of unexpected influx of refugees.
• The gateway or Palmyrah in our design has been especially provided to evoke a sense of identity
among the people that are in danger of being losing it. It’s an important feature with respect to
preserving an architectural and cultural aspect of a region that may not be saved. With the danger of
attacks lurking over the regions of Syria, these heritage pieces are at a risk of being destroyed forever.
Moreover, this inclusion will help in making refugees a feel of home that they had to leave.

Safety and security

For improving the living conditions of the refugees, we need to ensure that they are protected from the crimes
and attacks, being the soft targets. Hence, measures to ensure safety and security becomes imperative.

Safety- to avoid accidents which may or may not involve human.

Security- to avoid malicious activities which involve people.

These terminologies hold utmost importance in this context, as it’s
necessary to look after the vulnerable and sensitive areas.
Surveillance of the spaces can make the spaces more secure. This
especially holds true when it comes to women’s safety which has
overt and covert part.

In our design we have approached spaces in such a way that the

workplace sector is towards the entrance to better ensuring the
closeness with Turkish people which will allow integration, and
the public spaces that are in hustle bustle, can be secured by some
security techniques such as following;

Defined pathways: Giving entrance and exit in such a way that it’s
well defined and people don’t take other routes.

Community integration space: In our design we have come up with

courtyard as a small space for integration which will help them in
making acquaintances with their neighbours.

Natural surveillance: People who are entering and leaving their camp keep an eye.

Territorial reinforcement: To instil a sense of belonging and home in the minds of people so that they feel
motivated to keep it secure.

Maintenance: Inculcating all these small aspects will be instrumental in saving their lives and homes in the long
run.

All these techniques will be beneficial in following aspects:

• Gender sensitivity and security

• Getting to know their neighbour
• Tendency towards violence and crime
• Creation of future generations and secure individuals
• Will give special attention to senior citizens and lonely kids.
• Revalidates semi- public activities.
• Equal access to public and semi-public areas.
• Everyone can keep an eye on street.

Safety and Security in Our Design

The shelter is well planned to overcome the problems that rise at the time of war or in any disastrous events. In
case of bombardment or any other mishap, the shelter is well planned to ensure the safety and security of the
refugees.

There is a void 1.4m deep under the shelter that has adequate space for 5-6 people, where they can safely stay
for around 2 days until they could be rescued. Also, the corrugated metal sheet is light in weight as compared to
standard wall materials and if anything happens the wall will displace and fall outside the shelter space.
Figure 17- Emergency shelter

Sustainable Features

Sustainable Window
Instant Windows are unrolled from a tube like a cling film. They are cheap to produce and easy to install, and
offer a level of insulation similar to a single-pane glass window.

The insulation is created through layering of two sheets of plastic, with an air pocket maintained by latches that
cross the sheeting like shutters.

The latches fold flat for storage in the roll, but lock open at a 90-degree angle during installation to separate the
two layers of plastic. A zip-lock mechanism fixes the latches into place.

Adhesive tape attaches the window to an empty frame and seals the air pocket. The only other tool required for
installation is a pair of scissors — users simply snip off excess material from the roll as required.

"Depending on outside temperatures and climate, something as simple as a damaged window – for example
from the shockwave resulting from the use of explosive weapons in the vicinity – can leave the housing
uninhabitable and push residents over the edge into displacement. For many, becoming displaced is a life-long
sentence."
Sewage waste treatment and energy generation
The sewage waste generation from each unit is further being treated by an efficient technique that not only
generate the treated water that can be further used in water for the flushing area but also generates the electricity
that can be fully sufficient to supply electricity for a single unit at optimum level.

Figure 18- Waste water management

This is a best and efficient way to create a sustainable transitional shelter.

Rain Water Harvesting

The efficient method of collection of rainwater has been integrated in our design strategies. The slope insures
the proper flow of the rainwater to the particular edges of the slanted roof. The water is then collected to the
water container tank after a small process of dirt separator (done by giving jaali at the container top.)
This is the efficient manner to collect water that can used by the single household unit efficiently and can fulfil
their needs to sustain. This could be considered as a sustainable method to accumulate the water resource
effectively in our design strategies.

Figure 19- rain water harvesting

Beehive Biomimetic Technique:

The hot air rises up, these fundamental techniques can be used in any space defining the particular direction of
air flow, and this can be categories as the passive cooling techniques.

WORKING:

In our transitional shelter, the air comes to the shelter through the voids near the bedroom at the ground level,
the air then rises up and circulated throughout the space goes to the next space (living space),the air pressure
pulls down the air flow and creates the circulation again in the space in the same way goes to the bathroom area
and then move out of the house through the opening at elevated level in the bathroom area.

Figure 20- Interior wind flow

Conclusion:
• Defining the air flow in a particular direction.
• Enabling Cross ventilation
• Restricting the air flow of a particular space (restricting the bathroom air to move in the other shelter
space).

Cactus Body Biomimetic Skin Technique:

The non-linear shape of the corrugated metal sheet used in making of the transitional shelter acting as cactus
body having the larger surface area helping to lose the heat gain faster and in efficient manner, this can also be
categories a one of the best method in passive cooling techniques.

Figure 21- Corrugated metal sheet

Future Vision

The existing shelters can be placed to any other site around the world where there is a need of better designs of
shelters for refugees. There are more than 5 million refugees all around the world and around 1.4million
refugees are in need of the resettlement right now.
The current refugee settlement areas include several provinces of Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan Germany, Pakistan
and several other places around the world. Going by current trends, the number is going to increase. They
problems they face is also going to increase and their requirements as well. Even though they are in shelters,
they still face a lot of problems.

Figure 22- Issues faced by the refugees residing in the existing transitional shelters particularly in Reyhanli and other
provinces of Turkey.
Figure 23- Proposed transitional shelter

Given the challenges the refugees face, the camps designed by us are:

• Cost effective
• Easy constructible
• Easily dismantlable
• Energy efficient
• Easily displaceable
• Light weight
• Sustainable
• Climate responsive

Material Usage:

The primary materials used are corrugated metal sheets and timber. Apart from their usage in transitional
shelters, they can be used for other purposed as well, ensuring that no wastage happens.

The corrugated metal sheets can be further used as:

• Wall panels
• Luggage racks for aircrafts
• Vertical gardening/ step farming
• Shipment truck walls and roofs
• Furniture
• Partition walls
• Road divider
• Cargo containers
• Warehouses
• Temporary houses
• Water containers
The wood can be further used as:

• Doors
• Decorative stuff
• Windows
• Partition walls
• Gazebos

Conclusion
Refugees are in the most vulnerable situation one can be in. Driven from their homes, they come in search for a
better future across the continents. But that remains a distant dream, as they have no where to go except in the
shelter camps where the living conditions are the worst and lacking in most sectors. Their heath suffers, the
education of children suffers and they are left with no means of livelihood. These people come from a place of
loss, losing not just the material things but their families as well. Physical problems aside, their mental health is
worst affected and the ambience of shelters definitely doesn’t help. Apart from all the problems that they face,
the attitude of locals towards refugees is generally hostile and unwelcoming. They think that refugees take away
the opportunities meant from them which sometimes leads to incidents of violence.

Keeping all this in mind, we have endeavoured to come up with a design that not only addresses the needs but
the well being of the refugees as well. The idea to take inspiration from Ottoman Empire served one purpose: to
try to bring back the sentiments of respects and peace that once existed between Turks and Syrians with the help
of Külliyye, the most interesting feature of architecture of that time. Bringing a sense of community is a sure
way of safeguarding peace. With innovative additions, we aim to cover the challenges the refugees face on the
day-to-day basis. Apart from that, we have also attempted to use sustainable techniques, bearing in mind the
environment and the future aspects. Design element of both the countries, Turkey and Syria, are incorporated to
imbibe the ethos of regions, that may be separated but not really different. We hope that through our design, we
not only manage to rescue refugees, but save them as well.