The minimum requirements of water needed for a person to survive can be as low as 20 lt per day. This thesis attempts to design the infrastructure of a settlement based on this statement.
The core structure designed is a water tower containing systems for rainwater harvesting and water treatment. The water is distributed to every part of the settlement through smaller infrastructure parts. Around this center defined by the water tower, the settlement slowly develops, through random concentration of residents, temporary or permanent.
People often have to move in order to adapt to change, either environmental, social or economic. A solid structure, such as the infrastructure designed, rooted in a place is a key element to the dynamics of people's mobility.
However due to the global scale of the mobility phenomenon, as well as the characteristics of every environment, require more flexible forms, able to cover the needs of the people.
The case study refers to a community already settled in a region of Chad, Africa, where there are currently over 30.000 poorly living refugees. The proposed settlement includes all sorts of infrastructure as well as housing and agricultural regions for a group of 1000 people. This new part of the settlement attempts to solve many of the issues the refugees have to face, with emphasis to the availability and distribution of fresh water. Other traditional techniques related to building, shading and cooling are also incorporated to the infrastructure.
An infrastructure is a promise for future activities. It is a reason for people to settle in a region and transform it into something bigger and more permanent. The multifunctional center concentrates the communal activities and reinforces the social relationships of the residing population. The goal is to create possibilities of an autonomous community that will gradually evolve and adapt.
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