Towards a natural ventilation solution for highly contagious respiratory diseases: the case of emergency shelters in Lebanon

Abstract

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic caused by highly contagious respiratory diseases brought about unprecedented crises across the world, and a housing crisis among others. Lebanon in particular, which is the context of this study, was heavily impacted by the pandemic, exacerbated by a pre-existing refugee crisis and by the Beirut Port explosion. This study aims to research the characteristics of an emergency shelter that mitigates the spread of contagious respiratory diseases in Lebanese urban areas as the latter are hubs of infectious diseases. In this context, the study researches the characteristics of contagious respiratory diseases, and how they spread, emergency shelters, and the threats that worsen the spread of contagious respiratory diseases in relation to the characteristics of the shelter. The study also explores differences in urban contexts where shelters are needed the most. In order to respond to these objectives, the study relied on interviews with experts to compensate for the gap in the literature on specific standards related to ventilation, and through simulation modelling tested shelter designs that allowed the assessment of these designs, while testing the guidelines in the considered site location: Karantina. The final outcome of the study aims to formulate design guidelines for emergency shelters that will protect its inhabitants from the spread of highly contagious respiratory diseases. The results show that natural ventilation with cross and stack effect should be used, in addition to lightweight material that can be disinfected and offer proper thermal comfort given the climatic conditions. The shape of the shelter, windows dispositions, and window to wall ratio were assessed to provide the optimal ventilation in the event of highly contagious respiratory diseases.