Specialty Fabrics Review April 2020 - 54

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Using fiber-reinforced vinyl,
LeTourneau University
engineering students won
the 2018 contest centered
on a 7.8 magnitude
earthquake in Nepal. All
photos: David Dittenber,
LeTourneau University.

From crisis to classroom
John Brown University's disaster shelter contest challenges students
to develop and demonstrate solutions for emergency scenarios.
BY HOLLY EAMON

A lesson in teamwork
John Brown University's disaster
shelter competition encourages
students to consider three phases
of disaster response: emergency,
transitional and permanent. The main
focus is transitional shelters, but to
expose participants to the emergency
phase, an additional mini competition
challenges students to construct a
livable emergency shelter in an allotted
time. Each team receives a materials
kit with tools such as tarps, wood, pipe
and block to create a makeshift shelter
tested against wind and water. "In a
real rapid response scenario, it comes
down to teamwork among people with
different backgrounds and technical
skills, so we want them to get a feel
for what it's like in the field when you're
on short notice and things don't go
according to plan," says Eric Weaver,
global shelter technical advisor for
the international relief organization
Samaritan's Purse.

G

lobal economic losses from natural disasters topped $232 billion last year, rounding
out a decade that cost the world nearly $3 trillion, according to the 2019 Weather,
Climate & Catastrophe Insight Annual Report published by global professional services
firm Aon. With both the report and the United States Geological Survey noting that
increasing global surface temperatures will contribute to stronger and more frequent
disasters, there will be no shortage of opportunities to serve those affected by these events.
John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Ark., connects students to these opportunities
through its disaster shelter competition. Typically sponsored by a relief organization,
the competition is open to students across the nation studying engineering, construction
management or architecture, or participating in science or technical programs.
Teams of no more than six participants design and build a prototype of a disaster response
shelter for rapid deployment and setup that aid organizations could use when responding
to crises. Scenarios change every year and are based on recent real-world events, from
earthquakes and hurricanes to refugees fleeing conflict. Following Sphere standards, a set
of humanitarian standards that help ensure consistency among relief responders, teams
must consider elements including wind, rain, privacy, security, culture, cost, ease and time
to assemble, and ventilation.
"The first year of the competition we asked for 'the perfect shelter' but quickly realized that
different events require different characteristics," says Mark Terrill, competition coordinator and
assistant professor of construction management at John Brown. "These have been in differing
climates with differing cultures and needs, and this is really what makes the competition
useful; students have to first assess the needs, then design and build to the requirement."
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST
Three weeks before the competition, teams submit a report detailing their project and its
effectiveness. Ranging in length from 20 to 70 pages, the reports help the teams clarify and
quantify all of the work they've completed in the months leading up to the competition, Terrill
says. Once on-site, they present it to judges, who incorporate their presentation rating into
a flexible scoring matrix that guides both students and judges through the testing process.
Judges include experts from disaster response organizations, local engineers, and engineering
and construction management professors.

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Specialty Fabrics Review April 2020

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