The 2021 J.U.C. MEDIA, RESEARCH & WRITING AWARDS | Category: RESEARCH |
Theme:  COVID-19 Pandemic – A Cause to Hope (2361 words)
Submission No# 5 | Submitted by: Kaif Ali (U. 20 years old.) – Participation Release Form received. 
• Virtual Award Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 4, 2021. Stay in tune…

RESILIENCE OF IMPENDING ARCHITECTURE AMID COVID-19 PANDAMIC – A CAUSE TO HOPE

“Space, light, and order are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep” – Le Corbusier. Lately, we have been in a situation where fear of contamination controls the kind of spaces, we want to be in.
Being amongst the most populated megacities in the world, India’s capital is an example of how rapid economic expansion of a region can lead to unprecedented growth of the city in terms of urbanization. With approximately 7 million people joining the city each year, Delhi is an example of an unbalanced conurbated city, its inhabitants suffered a lot during the recent covid crisis, people were asked to live inside their little cells while having lack of open spaces and poor ventilation. This led to the rise of the physical, mental, and psychological health problems of the inhabitants.
Although this pandemic has its fair share of trouble on every construct of the society, the worst hit were the daily wage workers. The sudden lockdown affected the working of the urbanized city that led to the mass migration of workers. lack of basic sustaining facilities and other unforeseen challenges created huge pressure not only on the migrants but also on the government. One of the major threats for dwellers living in ghettoized and unhealthy built environments were respiratory and chronic illnesses.

Source: – The Guardian
The covid-19 pandemic has trapped people in their scantily dwellings and made them realize the basic requirements of a habitable home a human need to sustain.

These are the key challenges or opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences:

1. Lack of Intermediate Space for Covid-19 patients/suspects to quarantine/isolate ensuring healthcare precautions.

The major problem that is faced in most of the South-Asian, African, undeveloped countries or even in developed countries is that if the covid-19 suspects is quarantining at home, there is a high probability that he could infect their family members, neighbours etc likewise if they are not positive but still quarantining in typical mass shelters, then there would be high chances for them to get infected because these quarantine spaces are very contagious.
Thus, there is a need for an INTERMEDIATE SHELTER SPACE FOR THE COVID-19 SUSPECTS.
Here is the problem –
Case 1: – Mass Quarantine shelter for COVID-19 suspects/patients/migrants.
• Disadvantages: – If a single patient is positive there, it is a high possibility that it could be communicated to healthy individuals.
• Result: – Defeats the purpose of quarantine shelters, posing more individuals at risk of deadly COVID-19 and further inflating the number and pressure on already crumbling medical infrastructure.
148 Asylum Seekers Test Positive for COVID-19 at Migrant Shelter in Greece ~ Democracy Now

Case 2: – Home quarantine for suspects/patients with mild symptoms.
• Disadvantages: – He/she can easily spread the virus to their family members, neighbours, etc. Also, if the doctors visit the patients at their homes, there is a high possibility of our Corona warriors catching the virus and vice versa.
• Result: – More covid-19 patients mean more critical patients, resulting in high pressure to the medical system (Hospitals), causing a high death rate, and economic loss.

Source: – The Guardian
If you get covid-19, leaving your house may be the best way to protect your family

The size of the problem is very large and is a major source of transmission of virus worldwide.
There is a need to create an intermediate space between house and hospitals where a COVID19 suspect/patient can quarantine/isolate while maintaining social distancing and healthcare precautions. These units should be developed in every contaminated constituency comprising of Quarantine/Isolation shelters ensuring social distancing amongst all patients, then only we can minimize the spread.
• Advantages: – Minimize the risk of community spread and at the same time providing psychological comfort of being quarantined within one’s locality.
•Result: – Quarantined individuals & their families are spared from the alienization of quarantine shelter as the individual would be quarantined not far from their home. This would minimize the pressure on medical infrastructure, doctors, and the government. Also, the shelters, units that we develop will be segregated and have healthcare precautions in their design strategies. This solution can help the government economically by lessening the dependency on hospitals, and other core medical infrastructures.

Source: – https://curapods.org/
The primary material for these units will be Prefabrications such as PUF Panels, Shipping containers or other prefabricated materials according to the material available to the project’s local context.
We can make: –
1.Quarantine/Isolation shelter proposal for COVID-19 Patients.
2.Hospital Incremental Proposal.
3.Portable Washroom Units.
4.Portable testing Clinic Units.
5.The same shelter can be used for Migrants/ healthcare workers.

6. COVID19 Vaccination centres

–We can Re-use, repurpose the project/shelters after covid19 while maintaining social distancing to make:

1. Night and food shelter for homeless people
   2.Refugee Camps
   3.Flood and Earthquake Relief Camps
   4.Low-cost housing units.

The advantages of using Prefabricated shelter using Shipping containers, PUF panels are: –

1. Portable
2. Durable
3. Easy Customization
4. Easy dismantle
5. Recyclable
6. Adaptable in extreme weather
7. Easy Construction
8. Lightweight yet tough
9. Time-efficient
10. Cost-efficient

Its specific pandemic situation advantages are:

1. Require Less Manpower -Can achieve social distancing during construction.
2. EASY TO CLEAN- Can be reused by new patients. (SANITIZE).
3. Easy to Scale -Can expand the space as per requirement.
4. Multi-purpose Use- Can be used as a Quarantine shelter / Isolation shelter/migrant shelter/healthcare worker shelter/ portable testing unit/ portable toilet unit.

We can improve the shelter’s Architectural design strategies to make it a universal sustainable solution by providing:

1. Compartmentalization and Segregation of each Unit.
2. Maintaining Dilution Ventilation.
3. Separate open areas to each Unit.
4. Layers of Social distancing norms in its design strategies to restrict the Transmission of the virus within the Quarantine facility.
5. Open and Green spaces for Physical, mental, and psychological comfort.
6. A universal Solution: has the potential to get implement worldwide.

Thus, we can achieve 5 layers of Social distancing in the whole process.

1. From the patient’s house. ~ Mild symptom or positive patients are away from their homes minimizing the risk of transmission to their family members and neighbor.
2. Among the Facilities/Centers ~ There will be small units of centers in the respective constituencies thus minimizing the risk of transmission of virus to the larger context.
3. Within the quarantine facility/center ~ Through this solution , we can achieve social distancing within the center ; within each unit.
4. Among the patients we can achieve social distancing within the each individual unit ; within the beds of covid19 patients.
5. Thus, from the core medical Infrastructure ~ Person quarantining at the shelter; isolating in the shelter maintaining all the healthcare and social distancing norms leads to its recovery thus decreasing the burden on the core medical infrastructure like hospitals.

The solution not only helping humankind in this pandemic crisis but is also a sustainable solution, achieving Sustainable development Goals set by United Nations i.e.

GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being The vision is achieving layers of Social distancing norms, segregation, and compartmentalization of various spaces, open spaces for physical, mental, and psychological comfort. Thus, can be used as a Quarantine unit or health safety housing unit.
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation The solution comprises of Portable toilet unit having Sewage Treatment technology. Also, the design strategy is achieving social distancing norms maintaining crowd distribution.
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy The shelter can be using Solar panels and other clean sources of energy.
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure The project is using Sustainable materials like Re-used Shipping containers, B-core Slab (Broad Group, China). The Architectural and design strategies are also ensuring Habitable Environment, Affordability, Scalability, Adaptability, Versatility, and thus Sustainability.
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities It is a universal solution for all communities. The exact same prototype of of the solution can be constructed either in South Sudan, Syria, Bangladesh, Papua new guinea, India, the USA, or in Dubai.

Conclusion: – The need for an effective intermediate space (between house & hospital) is very important and efficient which is achieving healthcare precautions and sustainable factors. This solution is effective not only in this COVID19 pandemic crisis but is surely very efficient in any healthcare crisis.

2. Lack of Open/Green Spaces in major metropolitan cities of the World.
   The factor that defines the healthy working of the city and its inhabitants in this COVID19 Pandemic, the factors and the unseen element which is extremely important since the early ages of the mankind to sustain within the communities, the standard requirement of an urbanized cities and communities to sustain is to maintain the Balance between its built and unbuilt spaces.

The balance between the built and unbuilt space within any settlement is also ensuring the ease of mobility of human (pedestrian or vehicular), the ease of mobility of services (waste-management, water or electricity supply).
This balance gets easily manipulated due to the rise of rapid urbanization and its effects is seen directly in the COVID-19 crisis that affects the social, economic factors. People were forced to live in their urban conurbated dwellings where they could not get proper open space interaction, thus results in major physical, mental and psychological health issues.
Being an example of unbalanced rapid urbanized city, Delhi(Capital of INDIA) and its inhabitants suffered a lot in this pandemic because they are supposed to live in their house in more than 2 months having lack of open/Green space and improper ventilation.

Effect: – This leads to the rise of physical/psychological/mental health problems in the lives of the inhabitants.

Solution: – there must be proper open spaces like balconies , terrace, green spaces with the house or in the locality.
The spaces and the settlement should be design and scaled up maintaining the proper balance between the built and unbuilt spaces that not only will be beneficial for this pandemic period but also useful for the localities and cities throughout the sustenance of mankind.

3. Mismanagement of mobility of Services: –
   As the covid19 pandemic strikes the world suddenly in 2020, and with the sudden lockdown, all the basic services and the people in the management of that services, this whole process got puzzled up.
   For instance: – mismanagement in transporting of waste disposal from open dump-yards in colonies.

Source: – https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/nine-more-decentralised-waste-management-plants-delhi-33832/
Effects: – the locality and its inhabitants suffered chronic illness due to open waste disposal. Also, the lack of management of mobility in services also effected the economic balance of many people.

Solution: – There must be proper management to facilitate the necessity services to ensure if citizen’s overall health safety not only from COVID19 but also from other transmitted diseases.

4. Rise of Hotspot Areas: –
   As the covid19 transmits from people to people rapidly. It is seen in many parts of the world from Wuhan, New York, Sao Paulo to Milan, New Delhi. The most populated and urbanized cities are more affected to covid19 because of having large number of inhabitants living in the unbalanced urbanized settlement.

Source: – https://www.livemint.com/news/india/covid-19-number-of-containment-zones-in-delhi-rises-to-43-11586700129140.html
Effect :- Major population of the city is at risk because the deadly virus is transmitted rapidly in the clusters affecting the family, neighbourhood areas and so on.
Solution :- The proper lockdown precautions must be taken and the residents of these localities must follow the government rules.There must be strict travel restrictions to and fro from these places.

5. Challenge for the government: –
   The government faces a new and unseen challenge to maintain the law and order, ensuring the wellbeing of inhabitants, keeping the population safe from the disease and maintaining the socio and economic growth of the city.
   Effect :- the sudden lockdown affects the working of the urbanized city that leads to the mass migration of workers, lack of basic sustaining facility and other unforeseen challenges that creates a huge pressure not only on the inhabitants but also the government and administration.

Source: – https://scroll.in/latest/957570/covid-19-lockdown-man-collapses-dies-halfway-while-walking-home-300-km-away-from-delhi

Solution : The state government should not work under central government in these unforeseen situations but should act and react independently as per the situation in their region. As each area, each department is facing a new kind of issues. So, the segregated management should be there to tackle the situation which in turn would benefit the government not only in to tackle COVID19 but to maintain the economic balance in the country.

Conclusion :-
The need is to build and design volumes that are habitable, providing adequate open spaces that are necessary for any sentient life to proliferate. Our discernment of the current situation as future architects will resolve the issue of contemporary construct, we reside in. Spaces should be designed and scaled up maintaining the proper balance between the built and unbuilt environment that not only benefits us in this pandemic period but also pragmatic for the settlement throughout the sustenance of mankind. Understanding the importance of connecting the unbuilt environment through spaces like balconies, verandas and open courtyards will certainly improve the constricted city environment. The design strategies should be based on segregation and avoidance of cramped spaces with more inclusive public spaces and less hard-line boundaries.
The build and unbuilt relation is that particular hidden threshold for a community that if it gets maintained it could ensure the flourishing of the region, but if it is neglected it leads to the exploitation of the resources within the context, and also harms the inhabitant’s health by manipulating their lifestyles. The balance between the spaces within any settlement is also ensuring the ease of mobility of people and services. The current devastating scenarios force us to think about “how functional and enduring our designed spaces behave”. The concerns are great and even with greater repercussions than ever. As tuberculosis influenced modernism, so will the covid-19 and our collective experience of a race against the calendar while being in clumsy confinement will impact the architecture’s impending future.
“Architecture is measured against the past, you build in the present, and try to imagine the future”-Richard Rogers

Tags #2021JUCAwards #2021JUCMRWA #JUCAwards #JUCMRWA #Research #Covid19 #SDGs #SDG3 #Student #Youth #encouragement #InnovativeIdeas #creativity #inspiration #2021LMGlobal #lightmillennium #UNWithCivilSociety

The 2021 J.U.C. MEDIA, RESEARCH & WRITING AWARDS | Category: RESEARCH |
Theme: COVID-19 Pandemic – A Cause to Hope
Submission No# 5 | Submitted by: K.A. (U. 20 years old.) – Participation Release Form received. 
• Virtual Award Ceremony is scheduled for Friday, June 4, 2021. Stay in tune…