No abstract

Building permanent accommodation after a disaster takes time for reasons including the removal of debris, the lack of available land, and the procurement of resources. In the period in-between, affected communities find shelter in different ways. Temporary houses or transitional shelters are used when families cannot return to their pre-disaster homes and no other alternative can be provided. In practice, families stay in a standard interim solution for months or even years while trying to return to their routines. Consequently, they adapt their houses to meet their midterm needs. This study analysed temporary houses in Chile and Peru to illustrate how families modify them with or without external support. The paper underlines that guidance must be given on how to alter them safely and on how to incorporate the temporary solution into the permanent structure, because families adapt their houses whether or not they are so designed.

El uso de la realidad virtual (RV) en el diseño de proyectos puede ser una herramienta útil para facilitar el trabajo colaborativo a distancia, la toma de decisiones y el entendimiento espacial. Asimismo, puede ser un buen instrumento en el proceso de enseñanza- aprendizaje de la arquitectura. Aquí analizamos una experiencia colectiva de trabajo remoto donde estudiantes de arquitectura utilizaron modelación 3D y RV inmersiva en una actividad de dos semanas guiada por docentes. Mediante encuestas, entrevistas, y observaciones, buscamos entender el impacto de estas tecnologías en el proceso creativo, de aprendizaje y representacional de los/las estudiantes. Los resultados muestran que el tiempo de capacitación y experimentación es fundamental, que los equipos docentes requieren mayor aceptación al cambio, que los formatos finales deben ser coherentes con las herramientas usadas, y que existe gran diferencia en la percepción de estas tecnologías entre hombres y mujeres.

Although the international displacement of people caused by the Syrian conflict has dominated the media for the past several years, an inside story that is less visible requires more attention: that of internal displacement. More than half of the population of Syria has been forced to flee their houses. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in December 2017 accounted for more than six and a half million, more than a third of the total of population of Syria in 2011 (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2012. http://www. inter nal-displ aceme nt.org/middl e-east-and-north-afric a/syria /). Displaced Syrians have experienced constraints in getting adequate housing for the short-and mid-term inside and outside the country. However, internal displacement, in particular, adds a dimension to the complex notion of mass sheltering. Sheltering policies, or lack thereof, as well as the shelter itself as a design and construction product all express the power of those who govern more than the aspirations of those who inhabit. Affected groups find solutions by themselves, via national or international organisations, or a combination of both. However, such solutions function under the influence of authorities controlling the area in which IDPs are received. Among the alternatives available to displaced communities, this paper reviews two cases of internally displaced families in Syria: a collective centre in government-controlled Damascus (schools) and a planned camp in Afes village in a rebel-held area near Idlib.

This article analyses how energy efficiency regulatory frameworks have been developed in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Chile, within a context of developing countries, and it discusses if this context has been able to influence a culture of buildings’ energy efficiency in consumers. An online survey was applied to consumers who wanted to buy a house, aiming to understand their position regarding sustainability, and the role of the state versus the individual role, among other issues. The aim of the study is to identify consumer’s perception of energy efficiency and sustainability to promote a future research agenda in the Latin American context. In general, consumers value sustainability, except when they are presented in opposition to economic growth and social protection. However, it is possible to identify differences between Chile, with an established neoliberal economy, and countries that have economies in transition. Indeed, Argentina and Brazil show differences in terms of the role of the State, or the thermal comfort, which is considered a matter of habits rather than a mere technological problem. For driving more sustainable behaviours, consumers should be engaged in the implementation of these standards, creating a twofold process including homebuyers on one hand and mandatory requirements on the other.