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eloping temporary housing solutions for displaced persons
A study of user needs
Ana Slavec1, Eva Prelovšek Niemelä2
1 InnoRenew CoE, ana.slavec@innorenew.eu
2 InnoRenew CoE, eva.prelovsek@innorenew.eu
Temporary housing solutions are needed in civil protection for offering shelter to people in
disaster-affected areas and other displaced persons. Often, shipping containers are used for this
purpose, and while some studies highlighted the positive aspects (Zhang and Elmpt, 2014; Hong
2017) and their sustainability (Islam et al., 2016), others have pointed out the need for better
and more sustainable solutions (Perruci et al., 2016). In this paper, we identify different types of
temporary housing according to two main distinct categories of temporary dwellings (Abulnour,
2013): temporary shelter and temporary house. We study them from the functional and technical
perspective, their sustainability aspects, use of bio-based materials and reuse at the end of their
life cycle. The aim of this paper is to give further recommendations for the construction of
environmentally and socially sustainable temporary dwellings. Sustainable shelter design is of
major importance, particularly for European regions, since laws for public procurement follow
rules of green purchasing. We identify desired characteristics of temporary dwellings based on
twelve in-depth interviews with those that received refugee status in Slovenia, six of Syrian and
six of Eritrean nationality. Participants were asked to describe their dwellings in their home
country, their accommodations on the journey to Slovenia and their current accommodation.
In addition, they were asked for feedback on a draft building plan to develop an adaptable and
modifiable modular wooden building that could be used as a temporary dwelling. Dwelling
features that the interviewees valued most were having private bathrooms and kitchens and
being settled in cities, close to necessary infrastructure and integrated with the local population.
They did not show strong preferences toward any construction materials, but some of them
showed some concerns regarding the use of wood, especially those from Eritrea having less
experience with wood as a construction material.
Keywords: temporary housing, sustainable design, user needs, refugees, interviews
Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge receiving funding from the Horizon 2020
Framework Programme of the European Union, H2020 WIDESPREAD-2-Teaming: #739574.
REFERENCES
Abdulnour, A. H. 2013. The post-disaster temporary dwelling: Fundamentals of provision, design and construction.
HBRC Journal 10, 10-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2013.06.001
Hong, Y. 2017. A study on the condition of temporary housing following disasters: Focus on container housing.
Frontiers of Architectural Research 6 (3), 374-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2017.04.005
Islam, H., Zhang, G., Segunge, S. & Bhuiyan, M. A. 2016. Life cycle assessment of shipping container home: A
sustainable construction. Energy and buildings 128, 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.07.002
Perruci, D. V., Vazquez, B. A. & Aktas, C. B. 2016. Sustainable Temporary Housing: Global Trends and Outlook.
Procedia Engineering 145, 327-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.04.082
Zhang, G., Setunge, S. & van Elmpt, S. 2014. Using shipping containers to provide temporary housing in post
disaster recovery: Social case studies. Procedia Economics and Finance 18, 618-625. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-
5671(14)00983-6
INNORENEW COE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2020
12
A study of user needs
Ana Slavec1, Eva Prelovšek Niemelä2
1 InnoRenew CoE, ana.slavec@innorenew.eu
2 InnoRenew CoE, eva.prelovsek@innorenew.eu
Temporary housing solutions are needed in civil protection for offering shelter to people in
disaster-affected areas and other displaced persons. Often, shipping containers are used for this
purpose, and while some studies highlighted the positive aspects (Zhang and Elmpt, 2014; Hong
2017) and their sustainability (Islam et al., 2016), others have pointed out the need for better
and more sustainable solutions (Perruci et al., 2016). In this paper, we identify different types of
temporary housing according to two main distinct categories of temporary dwellings (Abulnour,
2013): temporary shelter and temporary house. We study them from the functional and technical
perspective, their sustainability aspects, use of bio-based materials and reuse at the end of their
life cycle. The aim of this paper is to give further recommendations for the construction of
environmentally and socially sustainable temporary dwellings. Sustainable shelter design is of
major importance, particularly for European regions, since laws for public procurement follow
rules of green purchasing. We identify desired characteristics of temporary dwellings based on
twelve in-depth interviews with those that received refugee status in Slovenia, six of Syrian and
six of Eritrean nationality. Participants were asked to describe their dwellings in their home
country, their accommodations on the journey to Slovenia and their current accommodation.
In addition, they were asked for feedback on a draft building plan to develop an adaptable and
modifiable modular wooden building that could be used as a temporary dwelling. Dwelling
features that the interviewees valued most were having private bathrooms and kitchens and
being settled in cities, close to necessary infrastructure and integrated with the local population.
They did not show strong preferences toward any construction materials, but some of them
showed some concerns regarding the use of wood, especially those from Eritrea having less
experience with wood as a construction material.
Keywords: temporary housing, sustainable design, user needs, refugees, interviews
Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge receiving funding from the Horizon 2020
Framework Programme of the European Union, H2020 WIDESPREAD-2-Teaming: #739574.
REFERENCES
Abdulnour, A. H. 2013. The post-disaster temporary dwelling: Fundamentals of provision, design and construction.
HBRC Journal 10, 10-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hbrcj.2013.06.001
Hong, Y. 2017. A study on the condition of temporary housing following disasters: Focus on container housing.
Frontiers of Architectural Research 6 (3), 374-383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foar.2017.04.005
Islam, H., Zhang, G., Segunge, S. & Bhuiyan, M. A. 2016. Life cycle assessment of shipping container home: A
sustainable construction. Energy and buildings 128, 673-685. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.07.002
Perruci, D. V., Vazquez, B. A. & Aktas, C. B. 2016. Sustainable Temporary Housing: Global Trends and Outlook.
Procedia Engineering 145, 327-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.04.082
Zhang, G., Setunge, S. & van Elmpt, S. 2014. Using shipping containers to provide temporary housing in post
disaster recovery: Social case studies. Procedia Economics and Finance 18, 618-625. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-
5671(14)00983-6
INNORENEW COE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2020
12
