John Brown University Disaster Shelter Competition 2016
Sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse
Summary of the competition is as follows:
1. The 2016 Disaster Shelter Competition will incorporate consideration of all phases of disaster response – the initial phase
which requires “emergency” shelters, the second phase which requires “transitional” shelters (1-3 years), and the final phase
which requires permanent shelters.
The Competition design scenario for 2016 for the Transitional (or Core) Shelter is for is the refugee crises currently in
progress in the Middle East and Eastern Europe with Syrian and Afghan refugees fleeing to the mountains of Albania and
Macedonia. The Sphere Standards are the general design criteria with consideration of local culture and climate.
Additionally, teams will also be asked to consider how their shelter and materials could be either transitioned into permanent
housing or how the materials could be used to build permanent housing in the future. The prototypes will be brought to JBU
for presentation and testing (earthquake, time to assemble, heat retention, habitability, wind/water) in April, 2016.
There will also be an additional Emergency Shelter Event that will be part of the competition but will be scored separately
and will have separate awards. This event will address consideration of the initial phase after a disaster during which shelter
is created from whatever materials are available at the disaster site. The scenario is a tropical storm like Cyclone Yolanda in
the Philippines with a tidal wave of 20-30 feet, 2-3km of destruction in land on the coast, winds of 160 mph+, and massive
structure damage. Teams will not need to bring anything for this phase but will each be given a kit with basic materials and
tools (set number of dimension boards, plastic sheeting, bag of tools, nails, steel wire and Corrugated Galvanized Iron),
some basic standards that must be met (e.g. height, area, wind and water resistance) and will have about 3 hours to
construct a usable emergency shelter. These shelters will be tested with wind and water. Grading will be on ingenuity,
habitability, time required to construct, and performance during wind and water tests. Teams can prepare for this by doing
some research beforehand on Emergency Shelters.
More detail is provided in the Design Parameters tab on the Competition website.
2. Cash Awards will be given for:
a. Overall 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for the Transitional Shelter ($1500, $1000, $500)
b. Individual Category Winners ($300 each) for Fastest Assembly, Best Wind Resistance, Lightest, Lowest Cost,
Best Thermal Retention, and Best Presentation/Report
c. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place for Best Emergency Shelter ($500, $300, $200)
3. Interested teams of up to 6 undergraduate students should, by Friday, November 21, submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) due
to JBU using the LOI Tab on the Competition Website. This LOI should provide at least a general idea of the design
approach of the team. The LOI/Application form can be found on the Competition Website.
4. The desired specifications and scoring matrix are provided on the Competition Website.
5. Participating teams will be required to register via the Competition Website no later than Friday, January 30. This will
include names of the 6 team members, a coach, and a $250 entry fee.
6. An initial project report must be submitted to the Competition Judges via the Competition Website no later than Friday,
March 25, 2016. The report must include design specifications of their proto-type and explanation of how it meets the
design parameters. Report should include at least the following: (i) Review of Existing Disaster Shelter Designs, (ii)
Explanation of Method of Design of proto-type, (iii) Validation that proto-type meets design criteria (size, cost, etc), (iv) How
the shelter is culturally appropriate to the given scenario, and v) Suggested modifications or improvements to the proto-type,
and vi) a draft Business Case Analysis for review by the competition judges.
7. A $1000 stipend will be provided to each team participating in the competition. The stipend will be provided to the team
upon arrival at the judging event in April.
John Brown University Disaster Shelter Competition 2016
Sponsored by Samaritan’s Purse
7. The on-site judging event will be during April 21-23 at the Balzer Technology Center on the JBU campus. Specific
schedule will be as follows:
Thursday, April 21
8:00 AM – 10:00 AM
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
11:30 AM – 1:00 PM
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
1:00 PM – 6:00 PM
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Coordination meeting with judges and JBU Reps (BTC CM Conf Rm)
Competition check-in and delivery of structures to testing area (JBU CM High Bay)
All participant meeting to discuss procedures and schedule (JBU BTC 209)
Lunch
Begin Earthquake and Thermal Tests (BTC CM High Bay)
Team Presentations (BTC CM Conf Rm)
Dinner with Judges (Simmons Great Hall)
Disaster Response and Service Opportunity Seminar Session 1 (Simmons Great Hall)
Friday, April 22
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
3:30 PM – 7:00 PM
7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
8:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Earthquake and Thermal Testing (BTC CM High Bay)
Team Presentations (BTC CM Conf Rm)
Break for Lunch
Timed set up by all teams (Lawn by BPAC)
Emergency Shelter Construction and testing from SP Kits (Lawn/Quad)
All Participant Cook Out (Lawn by Quad)
Individual Team Feedback by Judges (BTC Classrooms)
9 PM – 7 AM Sat.
Shelters occupied by student judges for Habitability Assessment
Saturday, April 23
7:30 AM – 10:00 AM
10:00 AM–12:30 PM
12:30 PM – 2:30 PM
Water and wind load assessment (using Architectural Testing Inc. wind machine)
Judges complete final evaluations and scoring of prototype shelters
Lunch, awards, closing remarks by SP and JBU (Simmons Great Hall)