Cameron Quate

Following Tacloban’s Housing deficit post Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013, Tacloban’s housing deficit was further extenuated as it created the need for thousands of new homes for those affected. Many housing schemes were proposed in Northern Tacloban, displacing families and communities from previous localities. These deep cultural and communal ties were not reconciled within the new schemes, with distinct differences between city architectural typologies of late and the new housing, with many prior key spaces not considered. Could these cultural connections be improved upon through design instead of forgotten? As Tacloban has High temperatures and a high humidity, rethinking the row house within Tacloban also allows an analysis and resolution of Urban Heat Island Effects within displaced communities. Post-disaster life was exacerbated by heat that the typhoon brought in its wake, with many queued for basic amenities like water, waiting in the extreme heat of an airport strip with no access to shade. These row housing schemes, whilst good in the short term for demand, have not accounted for the heat that dense urbanisation brings, lacking greenspace and solar shading. Do the row housing schemes that were built allow for the negation of the Urban Heat Island Effects and maintain cultural ties to the people in Tacloban? If not, how do we preserve culture within architecture design during DRR Response and why was the heat island effect not taken into account?