HEAL - Housing for emergency and affordable living

Abstract

HEAL is a research work in which the aggregation of dwelling modules, designed to meet the new housing needs during emergencies, is designed and managed, using advanced digital tools. Historically, cities have changed in response to threats or attacks, today more than ever, this transformation is clear. The concept of the house has changed, the experience of the recent lockdowns due to the pandemic has increased the already present trend towards a hybrid and multifunctional configuration, modifying the spaces of our homes in flexible environments. The forced stay inside our homes has led us to rediscover the outdoor spaces in their various types as a relationship with nature, although extremely domestic. HEAL proposes a more responsive solution to the living space. The abacus of the modules allows to generate multiple configurations both in terms of settlement types and in terms of configuration of common and private interior spaces. The ability to compose, replace and vary building components in a digital environment allows detailed simulations of how the whole building can respond and react to external conditions. Plus, new shared spaces configurations can be tested, with the potential to decrease the transmission of infections. Finally, the ability to semi-automatically transform the initial diagrams into BIM elements allows a precise control of the building components already in the early stages and, therefore, a considerable containment of the final costs.