LOC arquitectos

This conference will address a range of critically important themes in the various fields that address the complex and subtle relationships among technology, knowledge and society.

Theme 2: Technologies for Participatory Citizenship

Technical and social systems of sustainability
Participatory and Sustainable Emergency Settlements _ New Prototypes

Rebirth Wall _ Research Project
Professor Luis Casillas Gamboa _ Researcher Responsible
Research Group Rebirth Inhabit
Escuela Politécnica Superior _ Universidad San Pablo CEU de Madrid Departamento de Arquitectura y Diseño

Hundreds of thousands of people are affected by natural disasters, catastrophes and armed conflicts that cause every day the emergence of refugee camps. The emergency usual solution tries to create camping with tents or with fit out containers. Both solutions hardly allow participation of the affected people and fail to adapt to the place and to the social reality in most cases. When these temporary and ephemeral settlements become long-term solutions, populations suffer strong uprooting and stable group structures break down giving rise to insecurity and crime problems. Most of the areas where these emergency solutions become necessary belong to the Third World. Any solution to be proposed should consider the existing life conditions without breaking with their cultural and social bonds encouraging a Participatory and Sustainable response to contribute to their coming out of underdevelopment [ReLocate + ReVive] . (United Nations millennium development objectives for 2015: Objective 7)
The strategy proposed to achieve a medium-term participatory permanent room ReUsable and ReAdaptable [Sustainable home] covers:
1. Development of new technological devices – the Rebirth Walls -, addressed with processing equipment to transform organic waste and provide drinking water, compost to enrich the soils and power supplies with easy and sustainable energy, specifically adapted to each real case.
2. Introduction of the concept “first things first “in order to optimize native participation into self-development and production processes.
3. Simplification of constructive solutions, non-skilled labour needed for performance [ReBuild + ReAdapt]. All the solutions of the rebirth wall introduces structural basis in the main shape to provide an easy and needed construction of the local housing models.
4. Embodiment to scale 1:1 of Rebirth Wall prototypes in order to optimize technological participatory emergency solutions and real study of their technical conditions based on the ease of building and assembly at the place where they are needed (lightweight architecture, with the possibility of being recoverable ). The Haiti Project.

Keywords: Technological, Participatory, Emergency, ReLocate, ReVive, ReBuild, ReAdapt, ReUse