Development of socially sustainable transitional shelter design in the Philippines

The Philippines, due to its geographical location, is frequented by catastrophes, causing widespread damage associated with strong typhoons and seismic events. Many residences are devastated, leaving people isolated and exposed to various risks. Hence, there is a need to efficiently furnish the displaced population with durable transitional shelters to ensure their safety and security. However, the structures' sustainability was a crucial concern due to their quick production, brief service life, and direct impact on people. The three core pillars of sustainability are economic, environmental, and social; wherein, the social sustainability remains underexplored. Thus, the primary objective of this study is to develop a socially sustainable transitional shelter design that can accommodate disaster victims’ recovery. By interviewing relevant organizations and reviewing existing standards, three conceptual designs were produced: the square (STS), rectangular (RTS), and hexagonal (HTS) transitional shelters. These designs were evaluated based on selected quantifiable parameters of social sustainability, including construction time, thermal comfort, and lighting, recognizing that this research aims to advance the evolving field of socially sustainable transitional shelter design in the absence of a standardized framework. Using the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach, the investigation revealed that the HTS is the most socially sustainable transitional shelter scheme based on the criteria employed. However, this finding is heavily influenced by the established constraints, such as the assumptions for this study; thus, the results of this study could further be corroborated by considering other scenarios in future research.