Adaptation

Darwin once stated that,
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. 

In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.

It is part of human nature to survive and adapt to their surroundings because life will keep going. 
But Design is also a natural human behaviour. We all manipulate the world around us to create function and order, as well as to fulfil basic needs. We analyse and solve problems. Arguably, all people practice design. We always have. As our society has developed, the role of design has continually shifted. It has changed in scope, scale and technique.

How can ARCHITECTURE help speed up the adaptation process?

1. find the problem
2. create a solution

These are some examples of designs that dealt with a disaster of some sort and adapted a technique...

Flood Resistant Homes

Anti Earthquake Residence

Flood and Earthquake Proof Building

Quick & Easy to Construct Refugee Shelter

Zombie proof House

War Defensive Shelter for Two

Caravan Houses for Travellers

War Proof Shelter

Disabled Proof House Design

The necessities of life

• What do human beings need to physically survive?
  This list presents the five very basic physical items that human beings need to survive on this Earth. This list presents only the basic human needs to survive; people may need other items to grow, adapt and thrive. (They are the bare minimum factors that humans can live with)

1. Oxygen
2. Water
3. Food
4. Shelter
5. Sleep

Needs and satisfaction differ from one person to the other. this pyramid was designed to to show a universal and common need.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

What are the needs of refugees in their camps?

1. A stable water source
2. A stable food source
3. A place for comfort
4. A place for protection from harsh weather conditions
5. Feeling of safety
6. communal group

A Community

What is a community?

A community is a group of people united through a similar struggle with the same stories, they often pursues a common goal, concern or interest.

Examples of a community or community group:

• local action group.
• social  club.
• community council.
• village/community hall association.
• neighbourhood watch.
• playgroup.
• disabled access group.
• tenants & residents association.
• REFUGEES.

What sets up a successful community?

• A shared analysis of what social change is needed and how the members of the group will work and live together to bring it about.  
• Common agreement to a written set of principles outlining what the group expects from each member and what each member expects from the group. 
• A mutual understanding of the conditions of living together; what standard of cleanliness will be maintained, how work will be divided, extent to which individual privacy will be maintained, degree of communalisation of property and so forth. 
• A commonly accepted strategy for furthering the group's ends. 

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   Types of Communities...
   

   
   

   Community of Action A community of action is a group of connected individuals that want to change something in the world. This typically includes most non-profit/fundraising communities. Greenpeace, Acumen, Kiva, and many others.


Hybrid Communities Now, it’s not uncommon to find hybrid communities. For example, a community for online marketers in London and Geneva web communications. Hybrids are genuinely good. They focus your efforts and help you conceptualise a community that closely matches the interests of the people you’re trying to reach.


Community of Circumstance A community of circumstance is a group of people who find themselves experiencing similar situations. These are most commonly health-related communities, such as CancerConnection, Diabetes, and PatientsLikeMe.


Community of Place A community of place is a group of people bound by a common location. These include most traditional communities. The most common type of online community are those hyper-local in nature, such as EastDulwich, HamptonPeople, HarringayOnline etc.…They also include the hybrid communities – we will cover these a little later.

Examples of successful Communities...

E2’s work in the community includes schools, universities and charities. We engage from the outset to find the best feasible outcomes for your organisation. E2 can assist with grant and fundraising as well as providing thorough analysis of your brief and requirements. Ultimately, the aim is to design environments that are enjoyable to learn, study, and play in, within the constraints of budget and programme. Call today for a free appraisal.

Architecture for Humanity London is a charitable organisation concerned with the built environment. We believe innovative, sustainable and collaborative design makes a difference especially where resources and expertise are scarce. We are guided by the principle of grass roots development and focus our efforts locally. We encourage and support the locally available skills base, offering technical help, design advocacy and facilitating public education/training where necessary.
Architecture for Humanity brings together the expertise of individuals, groups and agencies to deliver high quality solutions. We create opportunities for architects, designers and other building professionals to help communities in need and organisations working for good causes.

Shape Architecture is a Chartered RIBA Architectural Practice working throughout London and the South-East. We work across the Private Residential, School and Community Sectors. Within each project we seek to create a building that revolves around the principles of space, light and transparency.

The Design path

Hosting Countries provide refugees with camps that come in many different shapes and forms,
Some are provided with flat packs:

-Are very expensive
-Take time to be shipped over






Some are provided with constructed camps:

-Better at keeping refugees safe

-May be easily targeted from outsiders

-Take a long time and effort for construction

-Are very expensive

Some are provided with elementary forms of camps:

- Fragile

- Unsafe

others are provided with nothing but land & its nature:

-Time & effort consuming
-Fragile
-Unsafe

Generally life at camp can be extremely difficult due to... 

                                                     - resources provided

- new habitat/ environment/ culture

                                                     - Previous encountered trauma

            - the feeling of un-protection and insecurity

 - Isolation (feeling of inprisionment)

After reviewing all my research i came to a conclusion of what refugees actually need -A REFUGEE CAMP & A COMMUNITY  SYSTEM-

-Provide ease to the refugees

-Calm & stress free environment

-Engage in activity rather than sit and wait

-To have surroundings ( remove the feeling of isolation)

-Camps that are cheap in construction yet strong

-Rely on themselves rather than others

-Provides safety, security & Personal space

-Long term system

-Remove the idea of gates, fences & barbed wires (they are not prisoned)

Collected Data

Below are the original countries of refugees...

These are some of the largest camps that host refugees world wide...

These are examples of five different countries that show where the people resettle...

This shows the journey of refugees to their camp...

This shows what refugees go through throughout their journey...

Life at Camp can be extremely different, here are some of the obstacles that many refugees face whilst living at camp.....

Mental Condition

Painting by asylum seeker

Refugees often experience traumatic events and adverse situations before during and after settlement, such as:

• Sexual violence 
• Genocide
• Torture 
• Political persecution 
• The loss of loved ones
• Forced child soldiering
• loss of family and social supports (particularly for women after childbirth)
• Unemployment 
• Lack of recognition of professional qualifications 
• Language barriers
• Isolation from others of a similar cultural background

The more common mental health diagnoses associated with refugee populations include:

• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Major depression 
• Generalised anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Adjustment disorder
• Somatisation

The refugee experience is divided into three categories: 

• preflight
• Flight
• Resettlement

 

The preflight phase 

• physical and emotional trauma to the individual or family, the witnessing of murder, and social upheaval.
• Adolescents may also have participated in violence, voluntarily or not, as child soldiers or militants.

Flight 

• Involves an uncertain journey from the host country to the resettlement site and may involve arduous travel, refugee camps, and or detention centers. 
• Children and adolescents are often separated from their families and at the mercy of others for care and protection.

The resettlement process 

• Includes challenges such as the loss of culture, community, and language as well as the need to adapt to a new and foreign environment. 
• Children often straddle the old and new cultures as they learn new languages and cultural norms more quickly than their elders. 

A typical Day

A typical day at a refugee camp

• Refugees don't have much to do in Camps
• Men & women sit and watch their children play others stare out across the isolated surrounding
• Many refugees wait to register at the entrance of the refugee camp
• Many pass their time by talking about their previous homes and what they went through
• Others busy themselves with daily tasks; carrying buckets of water back and forth from the large tanks dotted around the camp, sweeping out the dust from their tents, or pinning out the few clothes they have on the strings which snake between the thousands of tents and prefabricated units.

Life inside a Syrian refugee Camp (less than a year old)

 Boys carry water to their families

 A woman bathing her child

 A girl doing drying her clothes

Women waiting in line for food

A woman cooking food for her family outside her tent

Children learning in the camp's school

A girl playing with her dog

Girls playing on a makeshift swing

Children practicing taekwondo

A man cutting his friend's hair

A family having a meal inside their tent

A woman getting ready for her wedding

A doctor delivers a baby

A man fries falafels to sell to other refugees

Life inside a Thailand refugee Camp (more than thirty years old)

Women washing clothes and bathing

Men spend time by watching cockfighting

Boys playing football

A woman helping another in labor

Student attending classes

In whatever situation humans go through and what ever resources they  are provided, life goes on and people adapt. The Syrian refugee Camp which is a couple of months old in relation to the thirty year old camp in Thailand share one thing; the continuity of life and the adaptation to whats new

• http://theweek.com/article/index/257881/life-inside-syrian-refugee-camps
• http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/xlU8etdomVD/Daily+Life+Mae+La+Camp+Thailand+Largest+Refugee/z8UZym7hxDT