The Philippines is one of the ten most afflicted countries in the world in terms of lives and property lost as a resutlt of damage due to natural calamities such as earthquakes and typhoons that visit the islands annually. The destruction caused by these natural phenomena in terms of loss of lives, structures and livelihood reinforces the suffering of the poor who are the most affected. In times of disaster, not only food supply is the main problem, the provision of temporary shelters is also of great concern before facing the heavier economic burden of rebuilding their homes and livelihood in the future.
While most post-disaster management strategies are concentrated on relief work, so much has to be undertaken with regards to the shelter component of disaster victims. The viscious cycle of disaster-destruction-reconstruction has to be considered towards a more wholistic disaster mitigation and management strategy which would involve building resilience in communities so they have the capacity to cope and recover if a disaster strikes.
In view of the very recent devastating Typhoon Yolanda that hit the Philippines which affected large urban areas in the Visayas, the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) has initiated the establishment of the UAP Emergency Architects that will respond to the challenge of assisting communities towards rebuilding in a sustainable manner following natural or man-made disasters. UAP believes that architects, in collaboration with other built environment professionals, can provide the necessary help to communities in mitigating against disaster through proper planning and design, and sensitively managing the process of rebuilding.
The objectives of the group shall be to make available to devastated communities the necessary technical expertise to help reduce avoidable risks from disasters; to provide appropriate and sustainable assistance to the populations affected by disasters and calamities; to develop the capability of architects in helping communities affected by disasters; and to preserve and promote architectural, historical and cultural heritage.
The group shall undertake assistance in three stages: the immediate disaster phase or temporary shelter stage; the reconstruction phase; and the capacity-building. The immediate disaster stage will include conduct of field assessments to determine nature and extent of damage to buildings, infrastructure and communities and formulate appropriate strategies for repair, retrofit, rebuild , reconstruction or relocation. Since the process of rebuilding will be a multi-sectoral effort, the group will continually develop partnerships with other allied professions in assessing damage and future consequences, and propose immediate actions to prevent further damage both in the immediate disaster phase and the post disaster reconstruction phase.
The UAP-EA will be another humanitarian group in providing assistance to communities and to prevent duplication of help, the group shall collaborate with communities, government agencies and aid organisations in the immediate distribution and construction of shelter relief such as tents and ensure correct layout according to site conditions. Other tasks will include the identification of vernacular materials and building techniques to determine possible measures the local population can take to secure and repair their own buildings and undertake measures to make use of salvage disaster debris into recyclable materials for immediate and long term shelter reconstruction.
Architects being the prime professional in the design of buildings/structures, the UAP-EA shall likewise take the lead in developing guidelines for provision of temporary shelter needs vis-a-vis feasible long term reconstruction programs. The group hopes to build an encyclopaedia of designs for applicable temporary shelters which will be made available to aid organizations willing to provide them, including development of design prototypes for mobile community facilities such as, mobile clinics, mobile day-care centers, mobile playground, mobile kitchens, mobile showers, toilets, mobile schools and mobile multi-purpose centers.
The second stage of assistance or the reconstruction phase shall include the formulation of design guidelines for disaster-resilient structures. The design guidelines will serve as reference in developing appropriate designs for permanent housing, community facilities and permanent evacuation centers provided with alternative sources of power and water supply and a continuous means for communications. The group shall also propagate the use of alternative sustainable materials for construction which are earthquake, typhoon and flood-resilient and shall collaborate with other allied professions in the planning, design and rebuilding of communities in a manner that is environmentally and socially sustainable.
The third phase will focus on capacity-building for architects and the communities. It shall include the delivery of lectures, workshops and trainings on disaster risk reduction and mitigation measures applicable to building design to limit the adverse impacts of hazards and related disasters. Architects will be trained on necessary skills to help populations affected by disasters and calamities. It may also cover the training of architects on alternative construction materials like earthbags and strawbale.
The UAP Emergency Architects shall also assist communities in building resilience so they have the capacity to cope and recover if a disaster strikes. It will include community skills training to increase adaptation for potential climate change impacts and improve the sustainability and health of the community. The building of development capacity in communities who need construction assistance shall incorporate the principles of risk minimization. It may also include skills training to communities on alternative construction materials.
Building back better is our only recourse to make our communities safer and the task is indeed very heavy. The UAP Emergency Architects group is still at its infancy stage and learning from other humanitarian groups in providing the necessary assistance. Hopefully, in the future the group shall be able to follow the complete agenda for a comprehensive action plan to rebuilding and its actions will be anchored on the principle that rebuilding is to be done in a manner that is environmentally and socially sustainable.
As a response to the Yolanda disaster, the UAP Emergency Architects formulated an assessment tool and has undertaken field assessments in Northern Iloilo and Capiz. The field survey was made to determine initial help that could be provided to communities. The assessment of damages structures also helped in formulating initial design guidelines for proposed permanent shelters and facilities. The guidelines will be finalized after validation are done thru further secondary researches. These design guidelines will be published in partnership with the Samahang Kartonistas ng Pilipinas and will be available in local dialects.
As a result of collaboration with other local and international humanitarian groups and from the needs survey, the UAP Emergency Architects embarked on an initial assistance in the form of distribution of community construction tool kits with funds coming from donations given by different UAP chapters and Arcasia member associations. The local chapters in Northern Iloilo and in Capiz, under District C-4, coordinated with local government units in the distribution of the said kits. Similar distribution of tool kits shall be done in other areas as well in accordance with the timeframe formulated by the UN Office of the Commission for Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA) of which the UAP-EA has become a member belonging to the shelter cluster and in the education cluster.
The UAP Emergency Architects partnered with the UAP Media and Public Relations Committee in holding a series of seminars, the first one entitled “Rising from the Ruins: The Role of Architects in Rebuilding" held on Nov. 30, 2013 and the second is the "Design Forum: Solutions for Safer Communities" held on Dec. 7, 2013. This seminar series is part of the capacity building intended for architects. There will be succeeding seminars to be conducted in the future, with a possible collaboration with the Architects for Humanity group of the AIA.
A call was also made for architects to submit designs for temporary shelter as well as designs for permanent shelter, an evacuation center and a school. Several architects have responded by submitting designs in the prescribed format. These designs will be exhibited during the UAP Foundation day celebrations on March 26, 2014. The group is still accepting submissions as it intends to build a compilation of ready-designs for reference by interested NGOs and humanitarian groups. The UAP-EA together with UAP Manila-Atelier Chapter has likewise undertaken a design charette to come up with a multi-functional center to be constructed in Carles, Iloilo to be funded by a group of Forbes Park residents. The design is being finalized at the moment. Negotiations are also underway for a collaboration with a multi-national company for the design of a community evacuation center cum school wherein one hundred of this will be constructed in Visayas.
The group is also finalizing the design for a school/evacuation center to be built in Leyte. It will be a whole undertaking of the UAP-EA. The group will spearhead a donation drive for the construction of said facilities to augment the remaining funds from the initial donations. We encourage more UAP chapters to participate in the fund drive to come up with more than one structure. If this program will be successful, the UAP-EA will eye the development of a model community for disaster-resiliency with a possible collaboration with the National Housing Authority for the provision of a site for the project.
With so much workload to accomplish, the UAP Emergency Architects will need more volunteers. A volunteer application form is available for those who will commit time and effort to the attainment of the groups objectives. The form is available at the UAP Emergency Architects facebook fanpage or you can also email uap_emergencyarchitects@yahoo.com for more details.
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