Dynamic oasis: the ephemeral city for refugees

Abstract

This paradigm regarding architecture focuses on the people as being the pivotal line of focus therefore we designed an ephemeral city for refugees in times of the pressing refugee crisis. This concept of ‘urbanity in motion’ has been named the Dynamic Oasis, as it is a form of hydration to the parched lives of refugees. Our project focuses on three main components: layout, shelter and communal area. The strategically designed 8km2, circular layout promotes a sense of community, unity, functionality and organisation. This city utilises a micom, which is an abbreviated term of micro-community, where each micom has an area of no more than 5000m2 containing 50 shelters and micro-communal areas for washing. The concept of the shelter, derived from the armadillo’s layered effect of the scales (bio-mimicry), takes on the shape of a cocoon. The efficiency of the shelter design renders it foldable and thus effectively portable. Adjacent to the micoms, distributed throughout the camp, are communal spaces serving functions such as resource distribution points, recreation, education and medical centres. The design of the communal spaces found inspiration in irregular shapes of forest landscapes. The component structure of the shelter and communal area are prefabricated using tensile membrane and steel framework.