In process thesis introduction including thesis statement.....

1.             INTRODUCTION

                                                a.             Problem Statement

                                                                The speed of natural disaster rebuilding strategies seem to have been unplanned for with no direct preparation to help rebuild in a quick and efficient manner.  All over the world, natural disasters are occurring at any given time, which makes planning for very difficult due to the fact that there is no complete warning as to when they are going to happen.  Because there are also so many different types of natural disasters, it is difficult to plan for each one under one direct strategy because of the different conditions in each disaster prone area. Meaning that soil conditions will be different, temperatures will be different, the resources that are available in those prone areas are different, as well as a bunch of variables that can affect the way a building is constructed.  There needs to be a prototype that has the ability to be interchangeably ready to formulate with any type of natural disaster and that can adapt to any environmental location.   The ineffectiveness of disaster-related building strategies have become apparent in the fact that people are in need still to this day from Hurricane Katrina where the housing structures seem to have taken very long to rebuild with a lack of their cultural affinity. Creating a housing structure prototype that can be provided right away for people is quintessential.   The problem is it has to incorporate all different aspects of each disaster prone environment individually, so the prototype must have the ability to transform depending on the location to which it is to be built.

                                                b.             Critical Position

                                                                There is no way of preventing natural disasters because of their unpredictability and magnitude thus there will always be a need for aid in response to their effects.  Preparedness for that reason becomes one of the main components in addressing catastrophic events providing a basis for mitigation prior to the disaster. Past ways of disaster response and relief efforts have not been entirely effective, which may reflect on the amount of preparedness a region has put in place preceding the disaster.  This lack of preparedness has especially become evident in response efforts in past catastrophes within the last several years.  In response to disasters, the time response efforts made were exceedingly overdue in addition to insufficient building relief efforts which left a huge percentage of victims in severe living conditions.  A transformative shelter for emergency response and relief efforts may be a way to facilitate preparedness in providing proficiency in rebuilding strategies post natural disaster.

                                                c.             Thesis Statement

                Within the last decade, there have been 7,184 natural disasters reported worldwide… That can be translated to roughly 2 natural disasters occurring everyday.  Within that, there have been a total of 1,105,352 people who have been killed, 2,550,272,000 people who have been affected, and an estimated damage cost of $986,691,000: the statistics only get worse.  But the worst part really is that there is no way of preventing natural disasters. The only way we can survive these is through preparedness for what may come.  The problem may lie in our response and relief efforts, which seem to have been unsubstantially planned for, where response and relief efforts are in need of an instantaneous upgrade. My thesis proposal consists of creating a ( I NEED A TERM FOR THE MICRO CITY) transformative structure for emergency response and relief efforts in order to meet the needs of potential victims who are in desperate need of facilitative services, including medical assistance, food and water supply, and other essentials that are endured during a natural disaster.  

                                                               

2.             THESIS ESSAY

a.             Rationale for Study

                                The major driving point for this architectural thesis stems from my humanitarian beliefs.  I believe that every person deserves a place to reside, no matter what circumstances or characteristics create an individual.  No one person deserves a home any more than another does.   In the case of natural disasters, people are not given the choice to have a place to reside, and must make due with the best they can find and whatever aid it is that is given to them.  Sometimes this aid isn’t necessarily tailored to fit the needs of people individually, which is the reason to why I chose to formulate this project.  It becomes imperative, in my beliefs, which a transformative architectural structure in this context can serve as a tool to provide an efficient means of attending to a variety of needs.

                b.             Prospective Strategies                                       

Creating a kit that is composed of structural pieces of a multitude of sizes that can be assembled in a variety of different ways through various structural connections.

                c.             Architectural Apparitions

                                                To create a more rapid rebuilding strategy for natural disasters

To help a multitude of people in time of need

To provide structures that can be assembled to custom fit all different typologies of sheltering needs

                d.             Future Applications

                                The Two Steps Forward One Step Back Approach

Natural disasters are inevitable.  There are no ways to this day that can prevent them from happening, all we can do is prepare.  In knowing this, natural disasters have the ability to be used as a way to improve building standards that have no been addressed prior to the catastrophe.  A disaster would be the step back, preventing our world from further development.  The one step back is the way in which we address the disaster and then take one step forward to retain the point in which our conditions were prior to the disaster, then going one more step forward in improving and upgrading our previous conditions.

                In this case, the transformative structures can be used to help create better living conditions for people, and better than what they had prior to the natural disaster.  In all, the structures will be able to be deployed fast and efficiently directly in response to a disaster.

                e.             Summary of Study

Program Analysis - Adjaceny Diagram and Parti Diagram

Transformative Stucture Introduction

Disaster History Board 1

Conceptual Idea from 501

Problem Background

The speed of natural disaster rebuilding strategies seem to have been unplanned for with no direct preparation to help rebuild in a quick and efficient manner.  All over the world, natural disasters are occurring at any given time, which makes planning for very difficult due to the fact that there is no complete warning as to when they are going to happen.  Because there are also so many different types of natural disasters, it is difficult to plan for each one under one direct strategy because of the different conditions in each disaster prone area. Meaning that soil conditions will be different, temperatures will be different, the resources that are available in those prone areas are different, as well as a bunch of variables that can affect the way a building is constructed.  There needs to be a prototype that has the ability to be interchangeably ready to formulate with any type of natural disaster.  Another difficulty is how you prepare for reconstruction in multiple environments while still being able to keep the distinctive cultural characterizations of the community.   It is important that people are still able to identify themselves with their culture and place of residence even after a natural disaster occurs because when they do, there is a possibility that those distinctions may be lost.  A sense of place provides people with comfort and reassurance of personal security in their community.  These problems have become apparent in the fact that people are in need still to this day from Hurricane Katrina where the housing structures seem to have taken very long to rebuild with a lack of their cultural affinity.

Creating a housing structure prototype that can be provided right away for people is quintessential.   The problem is it has to incorporate all different aspects of each disaster prone environment individually, so the prototype must have the ability to transform depending on the location to which it is to be built.

Thesis Statement:

My thesis proposal consists of designing a temporary housing prototype that will provide people with their immediate housing needs post natural disaster, where that temporary prototype once built will then have the ability to develop and mature into a permanent housing structure over time in order to allow the users to create a distinct place of residence to which they are accustomed to.

Framework and Objectives:

            In order to prepare for designing a prototype, there needs to be complete research in all different kinds of natural disasters in order to even see if creating one transformative prototype will be able to be developed.  It might be more sensible to plan a separate prototype for each disaster individually, but if there is a possibility it can be developed for all, aiming to do so would be a starting point for design.  While researching that information, it also would be imperative to find out where the main points of disaster prone areas are, that way finding sustainable building materials that are within a close range of the area can be used in order to cut down costs. As well, I plan to research more into bamboo and to the whereabouts it grows, because bamboo has many positive attributes that may be very beneficial for the amount of time it takes to provide people with housing immediately.  Bamboo takes 3 to 7 years to reach its full potential strength which can shorten the amount of time it takes on waiting to be able to cultivate and re-grow materials.