The Faculty of Architectural Engineering at Beirut Arab University - Tripoli Branch offered two temporary housing units for refugees and the displaced.
The two units are of low cost and their ability to protect the inhabitants from different environmental conditions for long periods of time. These units use materials available locally that are also recyclable and can be reused.
The Minister of Social Affairs Mr. Rachid Derbas visited the Campus whereby he reviewed the project and held a business meeting with BAU Vice-President for Tripoli Branch Affairs, Prof. Khaled Baghdadi, Mr. Ahmad Sankari, the Branch Coordinator, Dr. Nabil Mohareb, Director of the Faculty of Architectural Engineering, and Dr. Ahmed Lakani, Director of the Faculty of Engineering.
BAU students had prepared six designs of temporary housing units throughout the year, two of which were chosen to be executed on campus. The first concept was executed by Engineers Fatima Khaled, Sima Sheikh and Nadine Hayek. It is a design that focuses on flexibility, mobility, lightness and ease of assembly, requiring no experts.
The unit is square shaped of area 17.5 m2, designed to house five persons in accordance with the specifications of the High Commission of Refugees. The main structure is made of steel, while the fabric is made of water- and heat-proof material. The floors are made of light wood. The construction period/unit is 8 hours, while opening or closing the unit needs about half an hour. The total cost of the project was $2340.-.
The second idea was designed by Engineers Saleh El Zannar, Sarah Masarani, and Fatima Blouck, and uses recyclable materials available on the Lebanese market. These materials do not need to be imported or to be manufactured especially for the housing units. The assembly of the unit does not require any experts of 18.5 m2.
The construction depends on using sand for the isolation of walls, using two layers of water-proof fabric, in addition to PVC pipes to support the walls. The basic structure uses Galvanized Steel Pipes to hold the roofs which consist of two layers of corrugated iron sheets with isolation between them, with wooden floors. The assembly of a unit requires 5 days and 3 persons, while the cost of the unit is $2300.-. In case of mass production, the cost is reduced by 20%.
After the presentation of the project, the event closed with a tour of the housing units executed by the students. The Minister expressed his admiration of the students’ projects stressing their importance both locally and regionally. The Minister further promised to cooperate with relevant regional bodies, hoping that there will be further cooperation with the University.
This Visit by the Minister of Social Affairs was followed by a visit from a delegation representing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Shelter Office (Beirut and Tripoli) for the Faculty of Architectural Engineering at the Campus and had a complete review of this project whereby they promised to activate a cooperation between the UNHCR and Beirut Arab University.
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