T-shelter: Designing a lifeline for urban disaster victims
Designed for rapid deployment in urban open spaces, the project addresses the critical need for immediate shelter while promoting community resilience and recovery through thoughtful design
Dhaka is one of the most disaster-prone mega cities in the world due to its geographical location and rapid, unplanned urbanisation. Particularly, the densely populated Old Dhaka is highly vulnerable to disasters, such as earthquakes and fires, due to poor infrastructure and non-compliance with building codes.
Numerous structures in the area may become uninhabitable following a large-scale catastrophe, necessitating urgent sheltering for affected families.
Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) has suggested emergency sheltering for disaster victims inside undamaged public school buildings and in the government's parks or playgrounds without providing any specific guidelines for disaster relief sheltering in Dhaka.
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Concerned about the residents' displacement, Sakib Nasir Khan, a final-year student of BUET's Architecture Department, proposed a design for an immediate shelter solution in 2023. He completed the thesis project under the supervision of Dr Asma Naz and Nayna Tabassum, respectively an associate and an assistant professor of his department.
Fast forward to today, his undergraduate thesis titled "In-Between: T-Shelters for Urban Disaster Victims" has earned him the prestigious ARCASIA 2024 Thesis of the Year Award in the Social Relevance category.
This is an international platform where undergraduate final-year students of architecture from 21 ARCASIA member countries compete and showcase their design ideas and potential.
T-shelters refer to both temporary and transitional shelters designed to provide shelter for people in need, such as disaster victims or refugees. These types of residences are generally made of easily transportable materials like tin, bamboo, timber, plywood, tarpaulin, and concrete.
Sakib picked the four-acre Dhupkhola field at Old Dhaka's Gandaria area as his project site.
His project aims to develop an efficient T-sheltering system for up to two years with essential post-disaster facilities, specifically for the residents of Sutrapur Thana — a vulnerable part of Old Dhaka having the second highest population density in the city.
The 9x9 feet shelter units can accommodate two to three persons. Two units can be merged to accommodate a family of four to six people.
"From my survey, I found that most people in Old Dhaka are locals, meaning they have no other place to go. Their social norms are deeply rooted, with a strong sense of communal connection. After an urban disaster, they don't only lose their homes — they become completely uprooted from their community and cultural heritage," Sakib noted.
"I designed this shelter to be located near their homes so they can easily repair their houses while staying close to people they know," he added.
The best feature of the project is that this sheltering system can be replicated at any public playground or park in Old Dhaka.
Another feature is its resilience. The design allows the field to serve as a shelter when needed and quickly go back to its regular use afterward. It also includes spaces that support faster recovery, making it a useful model for similar situations in the future.
"It's a process rather than a product. Although the design is specific to the site and the targeted communities, the research methodology and systematic approach can be applied globally. The project stands out for its goal of enhancing community resilience and its potential to be scaled or adapted to similar urban contexts globally," Sakib noted.
As mentioned earlier, the design integrates Old Dhaka's unique socio-cultural norms and intangible heritage to ensure the community's swift recovery. Features include soft-paved paths around shelter clusters and a hierarchy of shared spaces and courtyards connected by walkways inspired by Sutrapur's existing lanes and interaction zones. These elements preserve the community's strong emphasis on social interaction, which is vital to their recovery process.
Sakib shared that the challenge lies in designing shelters that balance international standards with the need to accommodate a high number of people within the limited four-acre space in Dhupkhola field. However, the community's adaptive living habits and resilience provide an opportunity for effective recovery.
By understanding these challenges and local needs, this project gives hope to affected communities. It also inspires similar disaster relief efforts worldwide by showing a practical and adaptable way to provide shelters after urban disasters.
Development through phases
The shelter site is designed to always be prepared for emergencies, including ramps for ambulances and fire trucks to enter the field. However, these entries should be restricted during normal days. This is called the Pre-disaster Phase.
"It's a process rather than a product. Although the design is specific to the site and the targeted communities, the research methodology and systematic approach can be applied globally. The project stands out for its goal of enhancing community resilience and its potential to be scaled or adapted to similar urban contexts globally."
After a major disaster, Emergency Phase 1 is initiated by installing a temporary medical unit and dividing the site into blocks with 3x3 feet grids marked. Then, a central axis road of 15 feet in width will be quickly constructed using ready-made concrete blocks. This central road divides the site into four sheltering blocks.
The sizes of shelter blocks will vary based on the central gathering field where the temporary multipurpose hall will be installed with GI pipes and tarpaulins. However, each block will have an internal courtyard surrounded by spaces for kitchens to be built later.
In Emergency Phase 2, the planned settlement area will be marked and kept empty. Lavatories will be installed in the designated communal lavatory places.
In Emergency Phase 3, the available spots on the field will be used for temporary shelters (tents). As soon as all the materials for transitional shelters are gathered, the volunteers and authorities will start assembling the designed shelters. Those within the community can also participate.
Later, after the affected people start living in the transitional shelters, other facilities such as a kitchen, office, cluster storage, bin, rainwater harvesting system, etc., can be incorporated. The temporary multipurpose hall can be converted to any shape within a few hours, according to its needs.
How the model works
Sakib's model meets most of Sphere's and UNHCR's health, sanitation, WASH facilities, and sheltering standards, serving as a suitable solution for many densely populated areas after a disaster.
Since Dhupkhola is a football field, only seasonal vegetables, potted plants, shrubs, etc. will be allowed in designated locations such as in the courtyard or beside the pedestrian soft-pave.
The rowak (porch), which acts as the foyer, can also function as the smallest gathering space of a shelter. It leads to the introverted courtyards of a single shelter of five units (can be four or six, depending on demand), the smallest green space. Then, it is connected to the common green space or courtyard surrounded by the kitchens of two or four clusters.
This courtyard, surrounded by kitchens, is designed as a play area where young children can be watched over by their parents, especially mothers, while they play.
"A generative design algorithm is used with some sheltering requirements as parameters and constraints to generate multiple clustering arrangement options with two major types of shelters [including their 90° rotated orientations and mirror reflection orientations]," Sakib said.
After many trials, the final clustering system ensures each shelter gets adequate daylight, fresh air, and a semi-private courtyard, while keeping paths to the kitchen and toilet short. The interior space is used efficiently to avoid waste, and sliding window panels are used to save space.
The design offers flexible living spaces that focus on privacy, security, community, and sustainability for two years. It uses Class D, E, or schedule 80 industrial-grade uPVC pipes, which are easily available locally, along with jute composite sheets, bamboo mat facades, and fiber cement board floors. The base structure under the floor can be made of GI pipe scaffolding to support different loads.
Vertical gardening is integrated into the shelters, particularly around the kitchens' facades. Smaller diameter uPVC pipes are used as the structural frame for vertical plantations or aquaponics.
As the men of Old Dhaka are used to bathing in open spaces or the pond, there will be open showers and a cloth-washing area beside the lavatory. Each shelter, kitchen, and lavatory is equipped with a rainwater collecting tank.
Sakib mentioned that the current site design will undergo slight modifications to facilitate vehicle access to the field when required. The project demonstrates that architecture can provide effective solutions to major issues like urban disasters.
For this project, Sakib has consulted experts in the field, including Dr Mehedi Ansary, Professor and Founder of the BUET-Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention & Urban Safety (BUET-JIDPUS) and the Bangladesh Earthquake Society (BES); architect Saad Ben Mostafa; Fawzia Bhuiyan; Sheikh Ahsan Ullah Mojumder; and Gourab Kundu.
"I am deeply grateful to Prof Dr SM Najmul Imam, Head of my department, as well as the Architecture Alumni Association of BUET (ArcAAB), the Institute of Architects Bangladesh (IAB), and the BUET administration for their unwavering support. Their encouragement made it possible for me to attend the ARCASIA Forum, where I had the incredible opportunity to receive the award and connect with pioneering architects and brilliant minds from across Asia."
