Community Center - Warm Hub
A prototype of an insulated community hub.
The Warm Hub addresses a need for flexible, multigenerational social space for every encampment. It will provide respite from harsh winter conditions and a social space much needed for families, children, and the elderly. It will also provide a room for the children and caretakers to gather and support one another. The proposed winterized design strategies are based on enhanced existing shelter construction techniques and locally available materials to provide weather barriers for cold weather conditions. The design of this community space is meant to be a pilot project to test strategies for the winterization of individual shelters.
Timeline: 2022.03 - 2023.04
Size: 45 m2
Cost: ~$20,000
Key team members:
Amanda Leifer, Claire Pang, Emma Nicholls, Maad Emam, Nathalie Beauvais, Nayab Khan, Patti Seitz, Shirine Boulos, Vannepha Luangaphay, Yi Zhang, Zheng Lei.
Context
Although this prototype can be applied anywhere with a harsh winter, we started to contextualize it in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, where we had two other projects constructed already.
The Mediterranean climate of the Bekaa plateau typically has hot dry summers and cold wet winters. Climate change has impacted the region with more extreme temperatures, hotter in summer and cold spells in winter, that challenge the physical and emotional well-being of refugees.
The informal tented settlements in the Bekaa Valley are often flooded or engulfed in snow due to freezing winter temperatures, often accompanied by heavy rainfall.
Image credit: UNHCR/Diego Ibarra Sánchez
Design Principles
Overall Design
FLEXIBILITY OF USE
The open concept allows for flexibility of use and for smaller groups to gather in quieter areas as the space can be divided by soft textile partitions
The Warm Hub is designed on a 5.5m x 8m base (approximately 18 feet x 26 feet) and is suitable for about 20 persons at a time, including children and their caregivers
SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY
The provision of energy is conceived to be sustainable and includes:
Roof-mounted solar PV panels, an inverter, and a power storage wall mounted inside the hub, ensure the provision of power, including after sundown
Passive sustainable design requires that hub orientation relative to the sun path is maximized for solar gain, and solar panel placement
Heating: An indoor portable heating unit with a diesel fuel tank capacity of 25 liters is sized to heat the space designed for up to 48 hours before refueling
The sloped roof provides proper drainage and the opportunity for water to be collected in barrels from roof runoff
The airlock vestibule minimizes energy loss
Operable double-glazed windows protect against heat loss during the winter and provide cross ventilation during warmer weather
Kit-of-Parts
MODULAR COMPONENTS
The Warm Hub can be broken down by its framing components: foundation, floor, walls, roof trusses, and sheathing:
Above-grade concrete-filled tires provide anchors for the elevated floor framing and hub platform
The supporting structure is made of wood dimensional lumber readily available in Lebanon
4ft x8ft plywood sheathing is used to enhance the framing structural integrity of panelized construction and to provide a raised flooring platform
Insulating components include extruded polystyrene sheets (EPS), rolls of foil-faced reflective mylar to conserve latent heat, and heavy-duty PVC externally applied waterproof tarps
Modular lightweight, insulating flooring tiles can be easily installed on top of the plywood sheathing as an optional finish
Insulated metal panel roof modules can be easily cut, assembled and disassembled for reuse when needed
Modular roof-mounted solar photovoltaic panels provide energy for lighting, electrical outlets, a display monitor or TV, and power for the diesel-fueled heater
Modular lumber components are also used as framing to support a small vestibule at the entry, wrapped with heavy-duty PVC flaps to minimize energy loss when the door to the hub is opened
Design Evolution
The warm hub structure has evolved throughout the iterative design process. Intitial considerations for heating included identifying insulation strategies with local materials and use
of a mobile boiler that could run on diesel fuel. More efficient alternative heating solutions through solar energy are to be used instead, as they are readily available in Lebanon.
Additional insulation could be achieved through the use of “weatherHYDE” of the like, which is a tarp like material that resists cold weather, and Polyfloss insulation, or the like, which is made from recycled plastic and can be produced locally to generate income for displaced people
The strategy to raise the floor plane about 18”-20” (45-50cm) clear of mud and water could be achieved with A floor-mat such as “Emergency Flooring,” or the like, is modular, lightweight, and effective at insulating.
Images credit: Everyshelter Emergency Flooring
The open concept design allows for natural air flow as openings in the facade facilitate ventilation making it comfortable for refugees to congregate in larger groups.
The indoor spaces are designed in a flexible way to enable community members to program the space as needed in small or large groups.