Contributors
Carel Weeber
Malkit Shoshan
The architecture faculty at the Bezalel academy, Jerusalem
Links:
DESIGN A REFUGEE CAMP
As we were invited to give a workshop to the students of Bezalel’s architecture faculty in Jerusalem -a city in which the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in its extreme- we have decided to focus on the issue of Palestinian refugees.
Along the city’s municipal-line and on the other (the Palestinian) side of the Wall, one can find the oldest refugee camps in the world.
While reflecting on this reality, we have asked the students to rethink the UN planning regulation of a refugee camp, as they are given to doctors.
We have asked a pragmatic question: to shape a camp that would be sustainable for at least one century.
THE UN REGULATIONS
Typical services and infrastructure requirements for refugee camps
1 latrine 1 family (6–10 persons)
1 water tap 1 community (80–100 persons)
1 health centre 1 camp (of 20,000 persons)
1 hospital up to 200,000 persons
1 school 1 sector (5,000 persons)
4 commodity distribution sites 1 camp module (20,000 persons)
1 market 1 camp module (20,000 persons)
2 refuse drums 1 community (80–100 persons)
Site planning figures for emergencies
Land 30 – 45 m2 per person
Shelter space 3.5 m2 per person (tents or other structures)
Fire break space a clear area between shelters 50 m wide should be provided for every 300 m of built-up area
Minimum of 1-1.5 m should be provided between guy-ropes of neighbouring tents on all sides
Roads and walkways 20-25% of entire site
Open space and public facilities 15-20% of entire site
Environmental sanitation 1 latrine seat per 20 people or ideally 1 per family sited not farther than 50 m from user accommodations and not nearer than 6 m.
1 x 100 litre refuse bin per 50 people
1 wheelbarrow per 500 people
1 communal refuse pit (2 m x 5 m x 2 m) per 500 people
Water 15-20 litres per person per day of clean water
Health centre: 40-60 litres/patient/day
Feeding centres: 20-30 litres/patient/day
Tap stands 1 per 200 persons, sited not farther than 100 m from user accommodations
Warehouse space for food grains in bags, stacked 6 m high, allow 1.2 m2 of floor space per ton
Data: A Handy Guide to UNHCR Emergency, Standards and Indicators, eCentre
One cannot discuss the territorial conflict without mentioning the mass-displacement and the Palestinian refugees. This project also reflects and challenges the UN regulations for the design of refugee camps