Details
Keywords Change this
Project timeline
2013 – 2014
Type
Experimental
Location Change this
Mbera Refugee CampMauritania
Also known as Change this
Castles of sand
Architect Change this
Client Change this
INTERSOS
ISM Change this
Description Change this
Mbera Camp is located in the southeast corner of Mauritania (50km from Malian border) and gives hospitality to refugees escaped from Mali after the 2012 crisis. In February 2014 the number of refugees is over 80,000. The alternative to transitional shelter is much more durable than the original design. The debate concerning the concept of ‘transitional’ as semi-permanent construction is still open. The comfort of the new classrooms is largely based on the effect (thermal insulation) of the massive sandbag wall: empirical tests suggest that internal temperature is substantially lower in the sandbags classrooms than in other structures. The use of superimposed bags filled with sand as masonry, with a cement plaster on chicken wire for both sides of the wall, is widely used in various areas of the world, and nowadays it can be regarded as a consolidated technique. The various stages of the construction correspond to the sequence of the very simple building techniques in use: masonry and plastering can be completed before installation of metalwork takes place and the whole production can be easily organized.
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