Refugee shelter: an engineer's perspective

The ongoing migratory crisis eclipsing Europe, America and Africa demonstrates the critical need to develop effective solutions for refugees. Providing suitable shelter for refugees will significantly reduce the number of migrants who feel forced to travel [1]. Currently, the strategy is to deploy tents designed with a life of 18 months, though it is not uncommon to see these shelters being used for decades [2]. Using engineering techniques in a structured, analytical manner will significantly improve shelter performance compared to current designs created by those with humanitarian backgrounds alone. The humanitarian and physical requirements of shelter were analysed ensuring all needs were included, avoiding the current trend which includes only basic needs [3]. The research indicated that although the shelters must be improved, many other processes are also failing refugees. Through the techniques, many of which have never been used for shelter provision, concepts were illustrate