A sustainable home for refugees designed by Norman Foster

In Venice, walking in the Castello district, between calli and campielli, you reach Riva dei Sette Martiri, where the Marinaressa Gardens are located, a shaded green area, which, on the occasion of the Biennale, is used as a collateral exhibition venue. Here you can see theEssential Homes Research Project, full-scale prototype of an emergency home, created by the Norman Foster Foundation, in collaboration with Holcim, a Swiss building materials company. A solid and safe haven for displaced people, who number 103 million in the world, a number destined to increase due to climate change.

From the idea to the realization

It all started in 2022 in Madrid, during a workshop of architects and students dedicated to refugee homes, managed by the Foundation itself with the support of Holcim. Participants took it as an initial model for their work Better Shelter, a curtain with polypropylene side panels, made in 2016 by the Ikea Foundation and designed to last up to three years. The problem is that, according to United Nations statistics, temporary structures, lacking windows and weatherproofing, often end up becoming semi-permanent, with displaced families staying there for an average of 17 years. With this in mind, the design team felt it was necessary to create accommodations that were easy to assemble, yet durable.

“Our challenge was to deliberately blur the lines between temporary and permanent, between temporary shelter and affordable housing,” explained renowned architect Norman Foster, who led the project.

Nine months elapsed from the initial drawings to the prototype, at the end of which the components of the structure were transported, on board a truck, to the lagoon city. No cranes were needed for the construction, which was completed in a short time by unskilled personnel.

A house for four people

There cabin, with its catenary arch shape, recalls the bomb shelters built in the United Kingdom during the Second World War or the structures dedicated to space exploration. The outer shell is made up of low carbon concrete sheets, initially rolled up like a carpet, which solidify with the addition of water, becoming completely rigid within 24 hours. With its 6 meters in diameter and 18 square meters of surface, each unit can accommodate a maximum of four people, offering a shower, a toilet, a sink, a double bed, a single bed, a folding dining or work table with integrated seats and a stool.

Under the banner of circularity

“Eco-friendly and sustainable, each home generates 70% less carbon dioxide than a brick or concrete building of the same size and, unlike tents, produces no plastic waste.”

A project in the name of circularity, given that demolition materials were used to create the structure which, in turn, can then be shredded, aggregated and recycled. Furthermore, thanks to its modularity, the cabin could also serve for other uses, from the office to the shop, from the classroom to the holiday bungalow.

Each housing unit costs around 20,000 euros: a figure undoubtedly higher than that of the shelters currently in use, which however could be convenient considering that the new lodgings are designed to last at least twenty years. In any case, Edelio BermejoHolcim’s research and development manager, assured that the company is already trying to reduce costs.

A community with school and market

Individual refuges, therefore, but not only. The architects have, in fact, created a real settlement. To connect the cabins are paths in permeable and low-carbon concrete, rich in aggregates that absorb light during the day and reflect it at night, reducing energy consumption and light pollution. “We want to build a village, a community,” said Bermejo, “and in this perspective, public spaces are important. We will create a market, a square, schools, restaurants. Only in this way will we be able to restore dignity to the inhabitants”.