frequently asked questions (faq) - emergency housing mexico
Q. Can you share any other information about local building materials, their cost, and their dimensions? Or websites where this information is available?
A. This page http://www.mexico.generadordeprecios.info/ is a very complete data base with building materials and their cost in Mexico. It is in Spanish, you can use Google to translate the page (link here). Also, Home Depot can work as a reference for costs and typical material dimensions in Mexico (http://www.homedepot.com.mx/materiales-de-construccion).
Q. What types of wood are available in Mexico?
A. The NGO uses mainly pinewood for the current houses, and that’s the easiest wood to get. But again, you can use the type of wood you find more appropriate. To have a reference, and as said before, you can use the Home Depot web page: http://www.homedepot.com.mx/materiales-de-construccion/madera-dimensionada
Q. Are they able to saw the wood, or do they buy the pieces of wood with standard measures?
A. They have a workshop where they saw the pieces, generally buying 2''x2 '' and 2 "'x 4" bars of pine wood. There they saw them in the measures that they need and prefabricate the pieces that later are mounted in the place.
Q. What machineries are available in the workshop?
A. The machines available in the workshop are:
Escuadradora felder k700s
Cepillo felder d951
Canteadora felder a941
Machihembradora felder f700z
Sierra Ryobi rts10g
Sierra DeWalt dw721kn
Sierra de guillotina DeWalt
Clavadora beltek th-cn70
Engrapadora beltek sf2640s2
Clavadora beltek th-bf1850s3
Q. How many workshops do you have in the country?
A. They only have one workshop in Mexico City.
Q. How long does the prefabrication work in the shop currently take, and how long does it take to build the house on site?
A. The workshop is able to make 5 houses per week, and a house is built in 2 days on site.
Q. The trucks that transport the pieces / modules, are they own, or do they always rent? If so, what measures does the truck have?
A. The trucks are rented. To see the measures you can check this page: http://corpustrailers.com/equipo/12/cajas_secas/caja_seca_de_53_ft
Q. Is there a plan for making several units in one location or only individual family units in any possible location?
A. They normally build several units. The minimum amount they have every built is 10, and the maximum 150.
Q. What do these locations look like (context), in forests or among informal areas or desert like areas...?
A. You can find different types of locations, some of them are in forests, others in metropolitan areas. For example, they are currently building in:
- San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca
- Agua Fría, Oaxaca
- Jardines de San Juan Ajusco
- Tlalpizaltli, Ciudad de México
Q. How long should the house last (a month, a year,..) ?
A. The house is supposed to be temporary (a year maximum), but sometimes people don't have enough resources and live there permanently. It is obviously not the desired thing to do since it is a very basic house, but at least they have a place to live.
Q. Can you indicate to us what the price or Glass/ windows are in Mexico?
A. You can use the Home Depot wepage in Mexico to have a reference of the prices: http://www.homedepot.com.mx/search/ventanas#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&
Q, To what extent should we assume that the basic water infrastructure, such as water and sewage, is in place? Do you assume an area where no such infrastructure exists?
A. You should assume that there's no sewage, water, electricity or gas in the place. Keep in mind these places are very rural and the house is meant to be temporary, so there are times that you'll find some of the services but there are also other times you won't find anything.
A. This page http://www.mexico.generadordeprecios.info/ is a very complete data base with building materials and their cost in Mexico. It is in Spanish, you can use Google to translate the page (link here). Also, Home Depot can work as a reference for costs and typical material dimensions in Mexico (http://www.homedepot.com.mx/materiales-de-construccion).
Q. What types of wood are available in Mexico?
A. The NGO uses mainly pinewood for the current houses, and that’s the easiest wood to get. But again, you can use the type of wood you find more appropriate. To have a reference, and as said before, you can use the Home Depot web page: http://www.homedepot.com.mx/materiales-de-construccion/madera-dimensionada
Q. Are they able to saw the wood, or do they buy the pieces of wood with standard measures?
A. They have a workshop where they saw the pieces, generally buying 2''x2 '' and 2 "'x 4" bars of pine wood. There they saw them in the measures that they need and prefabricate the pieces that later are mounted in the place.
Q. What machineries are available in the workshop?
A. The machines available in the workshop are:
Escuadradora felder k700s
Cepillo felder d951
Canteadora felder a941
Machihembradora felder f700z
Sierra Ryobi rts10g
Sierra DeWalt dw721kn
Sierra de guillotina DeWalt
Clavadora beltek th-cn70
Engrapadora beltek sf2640s2
Clavadora beltek th-bf1850s3
Q. How many workshops do you have in the country?
A. They only have one workshop in Mexico City.
Q. How long does the prefabrication work in the shop currently take, and how long does it take to build the house on site?
A. The workshop is able to make 5 houses per week, and a house is built in 2 days on site.
Q. The trucks that transport the pieces / modules, are they own, or do they always rent? If so, what measures does the truck have?
A. The trucks are rented. To see the measures you can check this page: http://corpustrailers.com/equipo/12/cajas_secas/caja_seca_de_53_ft
Q. Is there a plan for making several units in one location or only individual family units in any possible location?
A. They normally build several units. The minimum amount they have every built is 10, and the maximum 150.
Q. What do these locations look like (context), in forests or among informal areas or desert like areas...?
A. You can find different types of locations, some of them are in forests, others in metropolitan areas. For example, they are currently building in:
- San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca
- Agua Fría, Oaxaca
- Jardines de San Juan Ajusco
- Tlalpizaltli, Ciudad de México
Q. How long should the house last (a month, a year,..) ?
A. The house is supposed to be temporary (a year maximum), but sometimes people don't have enough resources and live there permanently. It is obviously not the desired thing to do since it is a very basic house, but at least they have a place to live.
Q. Can you indicate to us what the price or Glass/ windows are in Mexico?
A. You can use the Home Depot wepage in Mexico to have a reference of the prices: http://www.homedepot.com.mx/search/ventanas#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&
Q, To what extent should we assume that the basic water infrastructure, such as water and sewage, is in place? Do you assume an area where no such infrastructure exists?
A. You should assume that there's no sewage, water, electricity or gas in the place. Keep in mind these places are very rural and the house is meant to be temporary, so there are times that you'll find some of the services but there are also other times you won't find anything.
frequently asked questions (faq) - african school project
Q. Should housing be part of the site shown in CAD?
A. Yes, the housing should be included in the area marked in the CAD file.
Q. Will housing be phased like the classrooms?
A. Although we haven’t been asked for that explicitly, it would definitely be a good option to also phase the housing, for example designing a model that could be repeated any time they need a new house.
Q. Are the existing structures in the site going to be demolished?
A. Yes, all current structures and buildings you can see in the pictures and on satellite images will be demolished, so you don’t have to consider them for your design.
Q. Do the house units need to be designed or just roughly massed to show scale?
A. All parts of the project have to be designed, since if your proposal is the winner it will be built and they will need as much information as possible. If you decide not to specify a part of your project, they may build those buildings in their traditional techniques and resemblance.
Q. What does this line mean?: "It is not mandatory to have all the spaces on an only construction".
A. That means that it is not necessary that the school is designed in a unique building. In Malawi, they normally design buildings separated in small ones, creating outdoor spaces in between.
Q. Can each of the classrooms exist as separate structures or does the school have to be one building that includes the classrooms, storage, library, etc.?
A. That’s exactly what we mean in the previous question.
Q. To what extent can the topography of the site be modified?
A. The current site is basically flat and that’s what you should consider for your proposal, no major topography modifications will be done.
Q. Will the NGO be able to procure curved solar panels for roofs that are non-planar?
A. The NGO will install basic solar panels, so the answer of the question would be no, no curved solar panels will be procured by the NGO.
Q. Can I know the site dimension?
A. Approximately: area: 10.700 m2, and dimension: 70 m x 160 m
Q. On page number 12 of the briefing it mentions one floor buildings. Does that imply ground or ground and first?
A. That only implies ground.
Q. I have not received any confirmation emails that I paid nor a link to downloads.
A. After completing your payment, you should immediately receive an email with your order ID and a link to download the material on it. Your order ID is your registration number. Please, if you haven’t received any email after completing the payment, send us an email to info@archstorming.com
Q. Do we have a sense of square footage requirements for the programatic elements? classrooms, dorms.
A. About the square meters of each space, you just have to be logic, taking into consideration the total area you have and the program we gave you. The different areas must be thought to host 100 students. There is not a minimum nor maximum square foot requirement for the spaces, although spaces should not be too big so budged doesn't increase too much.
Q. How is rubbish dealt with? is it burnt? buried at landfill?
A. The rubbish will be accumulated temporarily in a hole made in the land. They recycle part of it, but what can not be recycled because of the limited resources they have, is burnt.
Q. Is there any provision/requirement for sewers? or, given the dry latrine requirement, shall we design our own grey water systems for irregation etc?
A. Since there isn't any sewer provision, you can design your own water system to reuse the grey water for irrigation. You must consider the most economical system, always thinking that resources as water, are a really important point in these countries.
Q. Animal area - is this for pets, livestock, grazing animals, chickens, all of the above?
A. The animal area is for livestock, farm animals (chickens, cows...) Not for pets.
Q. What are the most commont trees of the area?
A. The three most common spices of the area are (in its Chechewa name): mtondo (link), msoloo (link), and mbawa (link).
Q. What electric system will be used to transport the energy from the solar panels to the building?
A. We usually use armored cable, it can be installed underground.
Q. Do the dormitories have to be divided by sex?
A. Yes, and they should be located in separated buildings.
Q. The trees currently in the project area have to be maintained?
A. Although it is not 100% mandatory to preserve them, the jury will evaluate positively to maintain the maximum amount of trees possible.
Q. Are the trees marked in the DWG a good reference to know where the actual trees are?
A. Yes, you can use the DWG provided after registration to know where the trees are.
Q. Is there a rough figure for the area of photovoltaic panels required?
A. We estimate around 50 m2.
Q. How many water tanks should we consider?
A. You should consider 4 elevated water tanks, with a capacity of 20.000 liters each. You can elevate them using its own structure or placing them over a roof (you can see examples in the folder “Material pictures”, provided after registration).
Q. How many dry latrines should we contemplate for the project?
A. 20 for the school, 16 for the dormitories, and one for each teacher’s house.
Q. How many showers will be needed in the student’s dormitories?
A. From 16 to 20 showers.
Q. These showers should be communal?
A. No, the showers should be divided into individual stalls.
Q. The student’s dormitories should have their own latrines, independent to those from the school?
A. Yes
Q. Since it is traditional in a lot of houses in Malawi, in the teacher’s houses, the shower and latrines should be outside the house?
A. The latrine should be located outside the house. The kitchen and shower are normally in a different building connected to the main house by a patio, that could be maintained like this, but we are also open to new suggestions.
Q. Is bamboo an easy material to get? Could we use it for the project?
A. Bamboo is almost extinguished in the area, we could build a building or two in this material but definitely not the whole school.
Q. How many computers will the computer lab have?
A. 30 computers.
Q. Is there any information about the prevailing winds orientation? Are there any differences between different periods of the year?
A. The winds come from the lake, so they come from east to west. And yes, august is the month when winds are stronger.
Q. Can the bedrooms be intended as an only room with three beds?
A. Since families are pretty big in Malawi, it is definitely better to design 3 separated bedrooms and a living room.
Q. Are kitchen stoves traditional or electric?
A. The kitchen should have a space for gas stoves. You can also consider a second space used for traditional cooking, where they use wood to cook.
Q. In order to size solar panels, what kind of elements can we use for the kitchen of the canteen room?
A. Fridges and freezers.
Q. The student’s dormitories should be divided into smaller groups, or it should be one big dormitory for the 50 boys and one for the 50 girls?
A. It would be better if they are divided into groups of 6 to 8 students per dormitory.
Q. How big is the storage room? what should be stored there? tables and chairs too? or only chalkboard materials, teacher materials etc.
A. You can design different storage rooms. We mainly need one for the food in the kitchen area and one for the school material (including tables and chairs, teacher materials, etc.)
Q. What type of dry latrines are used currently?
A. We currently use pit latrines, but it could be interesting to empty them and use the fecal sludge to create compost. You can use a different type of latrine in order to accomplish that. A good option is raised latrines.
Q. The teachers also use latrines, or they use regular toilets?
A. The teachers can use double-tank latrines (also known as two-pit system toilets) to minimize the use of water.
A. Yes, the housing should be included in the area marked in the CAD file.
Q. Will housing be phased like the classrooms?
A. Although we haven’t been asked for that explicitly, it would definitely be a good option to also phase the housing, for example designing a model that could be repeated any time they need a new house.
Q. Are the existing structures in the site going to be demolished?
A. Yes, all current structures and buildings you can see in the pictures and on satellite images will be demolished, so you don’t have to consider them for your design.
Q. Do the house units need to be designed or just roughly massed to show scale?
A. All parts of the project have to be designed, since if your proposal is the winner it will be built and they will need as much information as possible. If you decide not to specify a part of your project, they may build those buildings in their traditional techniques and resemblance.
Q. What does this line mean?: "It is not mandatory to have all the spaces on an only construction".
A. That means that it is not necessary that the school is designed in a unique building. In Malawi, they normally design buildings separated in small ones, creating outdoor spaces in between.
Q. Can each of the classrooms exist as separate structures or does the school have to be one building that includes the classrooms, storage, library, etc.?
A. That’s exactly what we mean in the previous question.
Q. To what extent can the topography of the site be modified?
A. The current site is basically flat and that’s what you should consider for your proposal, no major topography modifications will be done.
Q. Will the NGO be able to procure curved solar panels for roofs that are non-planar?
A. The NGO will install basic solar panels, so the answer of the question would be no, no curved solar panels will be procured by the NGO.
Q. Can I know the site dimension?
A. Approximately: area: 10.700 m2, and dimension: 70 m x 160 m
Q. On page number 12 of the briefing it mentions one floor buildings. Does that imply ground or ground and first?
A. That only implies ground.
Q. I have not received any confirmation emails that I paid nor a link to downloads.
A. After completing your payment, you should immediately receive an email with your order ID and a link to download the material on it. Your order ID is your registration number. Please, if you haven’t received any email after completing the payment, send us an email to info@archstorming.com
Q. Do we have a sense of square footage requirements for the programatic elements? classrooms, dorms.
A. About the square meters of each space, you just have to be logic, taking into consideration the total area you have and the program we gave you. The different areas must be thought to host 100 students. There is not a minimum nor maximum square foot requirement for the spaces, although spaces should not be too big so budged doesn't increase too much.
Q. How is rubbish dealt with? is it burnt? buried at landfill?
A. The rubbish will be accumulated temporarily in a hole made in the land. They recycle part of it, but what can not be recycled because of the limited resources they have, is burnt.
Q. Is there any provision/requirement for sewers? or, given the dry latrine requirement, shall we design our own grey water systems for irregation etc?
A. Since there isn't any sewer provision, you can design your own water system to reuse the grey water for irrigation. You must consider the most economical system, always thinking that resources as water, are a really important point in these countries.
Q. Animal area - is this for pets, livestock, grazing animals, chickens, all of the above?
A. The animal area is for livestock, farm animals (chickens, cows...) Not for pets.
Q. What are the most commont trees of the area?
A. The three most common spices of the area are (in its Chechewa name): mtondo (link), msoloo (link), and mbawa (link).
Q. What electric system will be used to transport the energy from the solar panels to the building?
A. We usually use armored cable, it can be installed underground.
Q. Do the dormitories have to be divided by sex?
A. Yes, and they should be located in separated buildings.
Q. The trees currently in the project area have to be maintained?
A. Although it is not 100% mandatory to preserve them, the jury will evaluate positively to maintain the maximum amount of trees possible.
Q. Are the trees marked in the DWG a good reference to know where the actual trees are?
A. Yes, you can use the DWG provided after registration to know where the trees are.
Q. Is there a rough figure for the area of photovoltaic panels required?
A. We estimate around 50 m2.
Q. How many water tanks should we consider?
A. You should consider 4 elevated water tanks, with a capacity of 20.000 liters each. You can elevate them using its own structure or placing them over a roof (you can see examples in the folder “Material pictures”, provided after registration).
Q. How many dry latrines should we contemplate for the project?
A. 20 for the school, 16 for the dormitories, and one for each teacher’s house.
Q. How many showers will be needed in the student’s dormitories?
A. From 16 to 20 showers.
Q. These showers should be communal?
A. No, the showers should be divided into individual stalls.
Q. The student’s dormitories should have their own latrines, independent to those from the school?
A. Yes
Q. Since it is traditional in a lot of houses in Malawi, in the teacher’s houses, the shower and latrines should be outside the house?
A. The latrine should be located outside the house. The kitchen and shower are normally in a different building connected to the main house by a patio, that could be maintained like this, but we are also open to new suggestions.
Q. Is bamboo an easy material to get? Could we use it for the project?
A. Bamboo is almost extinguished in the area, we could build a building or two in this material but definitely not the whole school.
Q. How many computers will the computer lab have?
A. 30 computers.
Q. Is there any information about the prevailing winds orientation? Are there any differences between different periods of the year?
A. The winds come from the lake, so they come from east to west. And yes, august is the month when winds are stronger.
Q. Can the bedrooms be intended as an only room with three beds?
A. Since families are pretty big in Malawi, it is definitely better to design 3 separated bedrooms and a living room.
Q. Are kitchen stoves traditional or electric?
A. The kitchen should have a space for gas stoves. You can also consider a second space used for traditional cooking, where they use wood to cook.
Q. In order to size solar panels, what kind of elements can we use for the kitchen of the canteen room?
A. Fridges and freezers.
Q. The student’s dormitories should be divided into smaller groups, or it should be one big dormitory for the 50 boys and one for the 50 girls?
A. It would be better if they are divided into groups of 6 to 8 students per dormitory.
Q. How big is the storage room? what should be stored there? tables and chairs too? or only chalkboard materials, teacher materials etc.
A. You can design different storage rooms. We mainly need one for the food in the kitchen area and one for the school material (including tables and chairs, teacher materials, etc.)
Q. What type of dry latrines are used currently?
A. We currently use pit latrines, but it could be interesting to empty them and use the fecal sludge to create compost. You can use a different type of latrine in order to accomplish that. A good option is raised latrines.
Q. The teachers also use latrines, or they use regular toilets?
A. The teachers can use double-tank latrines (also known as two-pit system toilets) to minimize the use of water.
frequently asked questions (faq) - general questions
1. Are the competitions restricted only to students or professionals?
- No, competitions are open to all architects, designers or thinkers who want to show the world their solution to the issues we propose .
2. Is there any age restriction?
- Participants must be at least 18 years old.
3. Is my team able to submit more than one proposal?
- You are free to submit more than one proposal as long as you register each one separately and pay its correspondent fee.
4. Can we upload more than one board in the proposal?
- Each team must upload only one (2) boards, size A1 (594x841 mm / 23.4 x 33,1 in) either landscape or portrait. If a team submits more than two boards only the first two will be sent to the jury.
5. I am studying civil engineering, can I participate?
- Yes! People from other disciplines can also participate, such as engineers, philosophers, sociologists, photographers, etc.
6. What is the size of the submission materials?
- The boards must be size A1 ( 594x841mm or 23.4x33.1 in)
7. Do we have to use all the files The Archstorming Team sent us?
- It is not mandatory to use the files we sent you after registration, although it is recommended to do so since it will form you a better picture of the site.
8. I have registered and completed the payment more than 24h ago but I haven't received any material yet, is anything wrong?
- If you have registered and completed the payment you should receive one mail, with your order ID and the material to download. If after 24 hours you still don't have the email, please check your spam folder. If it's not there either, please send an email to info@archstorming.com
- No, competitions are open to all architects, designers or thinkers who want to show the world their solution to the issues we propose .
2. Is there any age restriction?
- Participants must be at least 18 years old.
3. Is my team able to submit more than one proposal?
- You are free to submit more than one proposal as long as you register each one separately and pay its correspondent fee.
4. Can we upload more than one board in the proposal?
- Each team must upload only one (2) boards, size A1 (594x841 mm / 23.4 x 33,1 in) either landscape or portrait. If a team submits more than two boards only the first two will be sent to the jury.
5. I am studying civil engineering, can I participate?
- Yes! People from other disciplines can also participate, such as engineers, philosophers, sociologists, photographers, etc.
6. What is the size of the submission materials?
- The boards must be size A1 ( 594x841mm or 23.4x33.1 in)
7. Do we have to use all the files The Archstorming Team sent us?
- It is not mandatory to use the files we sent you after registration, although it is recommended to do so since it will form you a better picture of the site.
8. I have registered and completed the payment more than 24h ago but I haven't received any material yet, is anything wrong?
- If you have registered and completed the payment you should receive one mail, with your order ID and the material to download. If after 24 hours you still don't have the email, please check your spam folder. If it's not there either, please send an email to info@archstorming.com