Emergency camps design using analytical hierarchy process to promote the response plan for the natural disasters

ABSTRACT The Increase in natural, unpredictable events these days require a rapid action to mitigate ensuing damage. Emergency architecture is the immediate answer to sudden humanitarian needs. Referring to disaster management phases, architectural design considerations should enhance these phases and prioritizing implementation considerations. To address these challenges, disaster management principles and phases were discussed, and urban planning & shelter design considerations for emergency camps were classified into four principles. These principles include site selection, infrastructure, camps zoning, and shelter design principles, which have a set of factors. These principles and factors are ranked according to their importance from (12) experts opinions and by using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) as an analysis tool. Then, the study examined the effectiveness of the AHP model by applying it to four emergency camps (previous experiences). Finally, an emergency camp was proposed based on the expert’s evaluation and the lessons learned from the previous experiences.