I have revised my planning outline. I have narrowed the topic to focus on a movable yurt village which can be used for emergency shelters in Kamloops. I will be focusing on finding land suitable to put the yurt village on. My design component will be the double hexayurt creation. I hope this is better. If any one has ideas on how to cut this back more please let me know!
Project:
To determine if a temporary and movable Yurt Village could be used as an environmentally sustainable and cost-effective solution to the emergency shelter needs of homeless and dispossessed persons in the Kamloops area.
Method:
Research land use to determine suitable land for Yurt villages, determine costs, conduct research on whether or not this would be a successful use for yurts in the Kamloops region as well as explore areas where innovations to existing designs could make a yurt village more suitable to the Kamloops environment.
This will be determined by:
Contacting both a City of Kamloops and a TNRD building inspector as well as the City of Kamloops planning department to gain an understanding of the zoning and land use regulations which pertain to the proposed village.
Using the building code and existing zoning bylaws for Kamloops and /or the TNRD to address any special requirements which may be discovered.
Contact existing organizations dealing with the homeless population in Kamloops area to determine if they would be interested in contributing to the research or if they have any helpful information.
Research on internet sites or in books, government publications, journals and magazines to determine the sustainability of yurts for the Kamloops environment. Contact existing yurt manufacturers for this information if it is not readily available,
This would answer questions such as:
Are they durable? How much sun damage can they take before they need to be replaced.
What special knowledge is required to build them?
What is the maintenance cost?
Are replacement parts readily available?
Research on internet sites or in books, government publications, journals and magazines, pertinent information on Yurts and their uses past and present. This will include:
information on past and current housing uses
their history, design and assembly
current costs
advantages or disadvantages of living in a yurt
modern design innovations ex: hexayurts and yurt-dome tents
Speaking to small local mobile home park owners and campground owners to gather applicable information which may be helpful in determining the viability of the proposed village:
what operating costs would there be?
what problems would they forsee?
suggestions for improving the proposed village.
Contacting YURTCO, a yurt building company, in BC to determine costs for small or medium sized yurt kits. Ask about discounts for bulk purchases. Ask for suggestions and if they could provide information on other companies or agencies which may be helpful as well as for academic sources on yurts.
Determine the cost for multiple yurts (max 50 -100) which would include a combination of small and medium yurts as well as hexayurts.
Adapting the hexayurt for use in the Kamloops winter.
Design a 'double' hexayurt which would consist of a second hexayurt which would cover the initial one. The inner hexayurt would be 2-4 inches smaller than the outer hexayurt and would be covered with inexpensive and lighweight insulating bubble wrap with the idea of creating a dead-air space to add to the insulating effect of the double walls.
Build a model to test the viability of this option.
Determine costs.
- Propose a design for a relatively inexpensive heating platform that could take advantage of the heating efficiency inherent in the circular yurt or hexayurt.
Special Problems:
- The tent platform could be either used wooden shipping palettes covered with particle board and a tarp or used plastic shipping palettes.
- The platform would be covered with an insulated, safe, lightweight heating mat (similar to a heating pad) which would use a material such as Safe-t Flex - a thin (3mm) heating foil that comes in rolls of eithier 400 or 530 mm wide x 100m long. and can be cut in suitable lengths. (Commercially this product is used for in-floor heating under a floating wood floor.)
- The heating mats could be plugged into an existing power source or possibly small mobile solar or wind generators.
- Research on the internet to determine costs and suitable materials.
Is sufficient information available to conduct the research?
Would the village be cost prohibitive.
How to determine if government and private industry will work together to allow this.
Will trained professionals and governments agencies give me the necessary information?
- Could changing zoning regulations be too difficult to even consider any of the proposed options?
Also:
Who is going to be a primary reader of this report? How much knowledge of this topic will they already have or require?
Assessing the value of asthetic appeal (ie: would the public accept these temporary villages and if so for how long)
What about accessibility for a handicapped person?
What options are there if they don't have access to services such as plumbing and electricity?
What options are there for cooking facilities?
Will there be problems with moulding or sun damage?
Safety and security issues?
What safety regulations would there be for the heating mat? Can they be designed easily and safely with out changes to existing regulations.
What storage facilities would be necessary for storing unused yurts/hexayurts and how difficult would they be to move.
- What funding options are available through government and NGO's.
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