A Feasible Solution Towards Sheltering Individuals Displaced by Natural Disasters

Me (Group Captain: Masroor) and my friend (Bangken), 9th grade students from NY Long Island, decided to build a building in which people after a disaster will go. The building will be 2 floors. The first floor will include a visitor room, as well as a kid's playing area, library, and a cafeteria. The 2nd floor will include fitness, and rooming for anyone without a place to live. There will a sauna, as well as areas to socialize and get to know others as well. Elevators will be used to go up and down floors. The building will be located next to a hospital, in case of an emergency.

-Balsa Wood (1/8 x 1/8)

-Paper

-Compass

-Ruler

-Super Glue or any wood glue

-Tape

-Pencil or pen

-Optional -> Fusion

We decided we should place the building in Texas. In the US, Texas has the highest amount of natural disasters per year, ranking at 4.1 per year. It is also located near the ocean; hydropower panels would be good to use due to lots of rain. As shown in the second image, this is the info given during a major drought incident and the areas most effective. The darker color represents the affected areas, while the areas with no color are fine.

An effective location to place our help center is Texas. This is extremely effective because through research, we found that Texas holds the highest number of natural disasters. This allows us to host a community for those who lost their homes.

As shown in the image, it shows the medical facilities and the clinics in Texas. For our building, placing next to a hospital will be beneficial in order to provide instant healthcare as soon as possible. And with the endless amount of hospitals there, there are many different possibilities of where to locate to.

Bangken: We should build 2 floors. The main floor will be the first floor. The fitness and exercise should be on the second floor. . On the first floor, we should include a library, a kitchen with a dining area, a kid's playing area, and a bathroom. The second floor should have a big gym and a pool. Outside, we should have solar panels on the roof, with a balcony from the third floor.

Masroor: The front side should look good with rock pavements and bushes. There should be a medical facility connected to the main building in case of an emergency. In this case, the medical facility will be a hospital in Texas, which will provide all medical needs needed by anyone in the community center or anyone rushing for aid. Escalators will be used to move up and down floors, which will be simpler and more injury-friendly.

Masroor: I decided to create a sketch with the first floor. The entrance at the front, and to the left we have a sitting area with a TV. To the right, we have a small library and soundproof walls so no one shall be bothered or disturbed. Next to the sitting area is the kid's playing area. In the back of the building, we have the bathrooms for females and males, with an emergency exit door nearby. On the right side of the building, we have a dining area, and past that is the kitchen. The right building will be the medical facility.

Bangken: I designed the second floor mainly for fitness and recreational sports.

A part of the first floor was cadded for simplicity, as given in the video below, however was not later used due to corruption of cad .stl file.

https://youtu.be/X5-suErUZiQ?si=XKuFJY4Sr_Kxmp6X

Masroor: I started to design the floor plan, with the walls being 1/8 inch thick due to using 1/8 inch wood. I started to draw out the outline, with placing wood to outline it. The first floor is first up.

Bangken: Through designing and implementing ideas onto this project, I’ve also drawn out specific activities and rooms that greatly benefits and supports people physically and mentally. This includes adding an area for kids to play and socialize, a computer lab so families can keep contact with their families, and a library that is designed to educate, and to provide a safe space for people.

Bangken: The 2nd floor was developed by using an escalator to reach the 2nd floor. On the second floor, my partner and I decided to implement a fitness center, as study has shown that fitness centers are highly effective at keeping people calm. Besides the fitness center, we also added a sauna, which also leads to people socializing and allows comfortability. We also implemented resting areas more for elders and those in pain to make sure they are well rested and healthy.

Bangken & Masroor: By combining all the elements for our project, we used our blueprint, where we drew ⅛ inch thick lines to represent where the balsa gets placed. We use double balsa wood to represent inner and outer walls. Then, we used super glue to connect all the pieces together. This allows for a strong connection between the wood pieces. We stacked the first floor and 2nd floor onto each other, making sure our sketch is still connected to allow for organization, and to know where each room is and what each room contains.

To conclude our project build, my friend and I really enjoyed practicing our architectural and engineering skills, and were very glad to apply it upon this opportunity. Through collaboration and discussions, we were able to construct a health center that not only supports those in need, but guarantees them a safe community, and quality activities.

We allow for people with disabilities or those looking for a temporary place to live, a great environment, friendly, mentally well, and medically fit.