Aegis - Architectural Solution for Community and Critical Facility Resilience

Abstract: There is a lot of discussion going on how to adapt to the changing climatic conditions, especially in countries where financial resources are limited. The built environment has been identified as a key area of intervention. As disasters, such as typhoons, can devastate entire cities, it is essential that the most important buildings in these cities, the lifelines so to speak, are resilient and can withstand major hazards. The aim of this thesis is to show ways architecture can help to create disaster resilient communities with a focus on critical facilities. Specifically, as an example, a school and a health facility for a neighborhood in the Philippines, one of the most disaster-prone countries of the world, will be developed. Humanitarian architecture has been focusing a lot on disaster relief by building temporary structures for shelter after a disaster. Although these structures are needed, they are no long-term solution. It has to be ensured that affected people can return to their old lives and homes. Moreover, a lot of disaster resilient architecture is developed for the wealthy with expensive materials and building methods. This thesis challenges these common practices, by offering a different entry point for architecture in disaster prone areas. It proposes disaster resilient architecture made from local, cheap materials to make it accessible for communities in poorer areas of the world. The disaster-type of concern is hydro-meteorological disasters. The study site serves as an example, where such architecture could be located. The thesis however also aims at creating generalizable findings which can be applied to other sites, as well.