Relief for Turkey and Syria

Voluntary Architects’ Network + Shigeru Ban Architects have provided Paper Partition System (PPS) in evacuation centers in Antakya and Mersin, as well as Paper Log Houses (PLH) in Antakya, in response to the Turkey-Syria earthquake that occurred on February 26, 2023. PPS is a simple partition system to ensure privacy for inhabitants in evacuation centers, and this has been used in numerous evacuation centers in regions hit by disasters such as the Great East Japan Earthquake (2011), Kumamoto Earthquake (2016), Hokkaido Earthquake (2018), and torrential rain in southern Kyushu (2020). PPS has also been installed in evacuation centers in neighboring countries of Ukraine for people who have lost their homes due to the Russian invasion in 2022. The temporary housing (PLH) assembled for the affected area in Antakya in the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake is an improved version from the previous type, taking into consideration of efficiency and minimizing construction time at site.

Supported by

Team

– Yaman Erturan
– Murat ERDEBİL
– Selda Kapucu
– Funda Can Atabay
– Mauricio Morales Beltran
– Ecenur Kızılörenli
– Jerzy Latka
– Tuğçe Arı
– Ezgi Nalci

October 7, 2023

A second workshop for log house construction was held on-site.

May 4, 2023

All photos by Voluntary Architects’ Network in Antakya

March 30, 2023

As a response to the 1999 earthquake which occurred in northwestern Turkey, Voluntary Architects’ Network + Shigeru Ban Architects had previously supported temporary housing using paper tubes. The new temporary housing for those affected by the recent Turkey-Syria earthquake is an improved version from the previous type, taking into consideration of efficiency and minimizing construction time at site.

The foundation is composed of beer crates filled with sand bags, and wooden panels are used to build the walls between the paper tube columns, placed at every 1.2 meters. This enables construction to be carried out in a short period of time. The roof is made of paper tube frames and plywood decking, and large holes are cut out on the plywood to ensure safety during construction, allowing people to work from the hole instead of climbing on top of the roof. Due to the cold climate, adequate insulation is also added to the floor, walls, and roof.