Project Designer: Shady Waked, Abdelkader Ghazzawi, Sandra El Hajj
Area: 9 m²
Photography: Richard Douzjian
Project Instructor: Richard Douzjian
Project Team: Dalia Choucair, Rola Kaba El Halabi, Louay Soubra, Eliane Azkul, Farouk Zouia, Alaa Kiwane, Pauline Zakarian, Saif Ayad Abdul Sattar, Mohammad Al Shmaitilly, Nadim Hallit, Jose Manuel Pages Madrigal
Institute: Architecture Faculty of Lebanese American University
City: Byblos
Country: Lebanon
LAU architecture students designed and assembled the ‘Emergency Plastic Crates Shelter’ at the Byblos campus using plastic crates and zip ties. This project embodies a ‘consumerist vernacular architecture’ approach, offering a practical alternative to traditional tents in hot climates by integrating storage solutions and enhancing natural lighting and ventilation.
Guided by studio instructor Richard Douzjian, the third-year architecture students at Lebanese American University built the shelter as a full-scale prototype. The project emphasized the use of common, easily accessible materials, reflecting the conditions often faced by refugees who must rely on similar resources to construct their living environments.
The project, titled “ECS-p1,” is utilizes only two main components: plastic crates, commonly used in the agriculture sector, and regular zip ties. This approach, described as “consumerist vernacular architecture,” allows the crates to be reused if undamaged, and both the crates and ties are fully recyclable when no longer needed.
Aside from three vertical support columns per wall and at the window sills, each plastic crate doubles as a storage unit. The window shutters are multifunctional, serving as seats or table legs when not in use. In hot, dry climates, the shelter offers a viable alternative to traditional tents, providing natural lighting, ventilation, cooling, and greater structural resilience.
The full-scale prototype was assembled on-site at LAU’s Byblos Campus using everyday materials. The interior of the structure offers 9 square meters of livable space, with the window shitters repurposed as seating and table supports.
The shelter’s table is constructed from paper tubes tide together with the same plastic zip ties used for the structure. The interior maintains a visual connection with the outside environment, while the crates in the window sills serve as additional storage.
The interior space is well-lit, naturally ventilated, and cooled, making it suitable for hot climates. The roof, assembled from crates connected by plastic ties, forms an alveolar system that reinforces the structure.
A thermal insulation study is underway for a potential follow-up project, “ECS-p2,” which would use standardized PVC boxes inserted into the plastic crates.
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Project Location
Address: Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
