Border Aid: Building Shelters

Shelter v1: Yurt Build at Moon Camp

Materials

Pallets: 6 (40x48)
Tyvek wrap: 72' (cheaper and more adaptable than tarps)
Dimensions: 10' High , roughly 3 pallets wide and 2 deep
Fasteners: (20) deck screws , (10) 6” nails, (4) blocks of staples
Time: 90 mins with skilled help
No. of builders: 5

Tips

Using wood in shelter construction brings the risk of cold migrants disassembling shelters for firewood.
Don't build shelters too far from where CBP lines people up for processing - migrants won't want to use them, for fear of missing pickup.
For extra insulation, you can use carpet underlay for the shelter floor and can attach cardboard to the inward-facing side of the pallets

WORKING DRAWINGS FOR YURT PROTOTYPE 1

All dimensions are approximate and these drawing are meant as a guide. Feel free to adapt or deviate from these documents as each site and builder is unique.

Recommended Shelter Reading

Ayham Dalal - From Shelters to Dwellings - The Zaatari Refugee Camp
In Zaatari camp, Jordan, thousands of Syrian refugees were sheltered in tents and caravans, which they steadily appropriated and turned into dwellings that responded to their social and cultural needs. In this book, Ayham Dalal takes a closer look at this remarkable transformation. He draws on the tension between 'the shelter' and 'the dwelling' to unravel how new spaces unfold in between them, where refugees become architects and the camp is dismantled and reassembled.
From Shelters to Dwellings is the first study to uniquely combine ethnographic observations with new architectural research methods, to illustrate in detail how refugees inhabit shelters. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how camps and shelters are transformed by the powerful act of dwelling.

Border Aid: Building Shelters

Table of Contents

Water Shade

Sun Shade

Shelter v2

Shelter v1: Yurt Build at Moon Camp

Materials

Tips

WORKING DRAWINGS FOR YURT PROTOTYPE 1

Recommended Shelter Reading