2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

Assessment Task Information Page

Student name: _Coquilla, Sharmane

Student ID : 215225293

Course you are enrolled in: MArch

Thesis option 1 topic: Environmental Performance & Sustainability: Post-Disaster Architecture
Design for Children
Thesis option 2 topic: Environmental Performance & Sustainability: Post-Disaster Architecture
Design Approach from a Grass-roots Rebuilding Framework

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

DEVELOPED Research Proposal 1

(No more than 1250 words. Total for this option = 30 % of final grade)
Title:
Establishing Architectures Role in Designing Environmentally Sustainable
Post Disaster Communities for Children

Refined aim(s) and rationale (no more than 250 words 5% of final grade)
The research aims to establish architectural standards applicable in creating
environmentally sustainable post disaster rehabilitative community design for children. It
endeavours to identify the key framework of community rebuilding programs for post disaster
afflicted communities and find common grounds and relationships where architectural
interventions centred on children rehabilitation can be integrated into the framework. The
research is about generating a new children-inclusive design context for architectural design
processes for rebuilding disaster stricken communities.
The most vulnerable, yet the least noticeable the children in disaster affected
communities take the most damage and suffering (Awatona, AA, 2010, p. xxviii). Sustainability
by definition is providing for the present without compromising the need of the future, yet
there is no set standard or guidelines incorporated in the rebuilding and recovery programs
in the sole interest of children who are the users of the future that which sustainability aims
to protect. A tenet of giving people an access to living a life with dignity after a disaster is
repeatedly stressed, but no provision for such is explicitly intended for children (Woolley, H,
& Kinoshita, I, 2015, p. 435) who have a different set of needs.
The research provides the opportunity to address the issue through introducing a
concrete and sustainable architectural intervention for post-disaster rebuilding programs. The
provision of established architectural design standards will not only bring to light the
importance of tailor fitting post-disaster rehabilitative efforts to be inclusive of childrens
needs, but also concretize how to tangibly translate it through architecture.

Methodology for one year of research (no more than 750 words 15% of final grade)
The system inquiry with which the research frameworks takes form of is inductive in
structure. As the research aims to explore an undefined perspective of architectural design,
induction, where there is a generation of a new context from existing data, would foster the
research forward towards realization. With this in mind, the study shall employ the
combination of two research strategies, historical research, and multiple case studies, all of
which to founded on an inductive system of inquiry.
Firstly, historical research shall be use as this strategy entails finding, evaluation,
organization, and analysis of facts (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 207) which is a vital
springboard to further the research. One of the strengths which will be useful for the research
endeavours is that history from a tactical perspective is commonly used to establish the howtos of data procurement necessary to know for researches utilising other strategies as well
(Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 207). There are two main components with which the data
gathering from relevant literature shall gyrate upon. One would be focusing on existing studies
and design approaches utilised in community rebuilding in post disasters settings as this will
provide a foundation for understanding the basic framework and concepts with which existing

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

and past rebuilding endeavours have been grounded upon. Secondly, data gathering on
studies and methods on post traumatic interventions for children of disaster stricken areas
shall also be collated. Having an inventory of literature for both these aspects are vital to
provide an overview of these two concepts that are to be analysed for relationship patterns
further on.
The second component of this research shall employ a case study strategy where an
empirical inquiry investigates a phenomenon or a setting (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 207)
which in this cases focuses on three existing rebuilt sustainable communities. Conducting a
case study shall allow for better understanding of the success and lack thereof of the
implementation of architectural designs of the communities towards sustainability and the
level of inclusivity or exclusivity of the design with regards to children welfare. As in Fernando
Laras case study of Modernism in Brazil (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 416) where the
framework of the study identified three types of data sources including archival research,
formal analyses and in depth interviews where Lara was able to establish the existing context
of the subject to a larger cultural context. In the same manner, employing a case study pattern
after a similar contour is designed to link the findings to create a framework towards an
effective design approach to design a sustainable community for children in post-disaster
settings.
A combination of a historical and a case study strategy is designed to work together
into identifying the effective and ineffective design approaches for disaster inflicted rebuilt
communities and its impact on the children. The use of the two strategies expands the data
gathering as it does not limit the timeline range of the data for study because it spans both
archived information through historical study and current facts and figures in the case studies.
Also, it is vital that the chronological order of the study be observed, as the historical research
component is essential to have a deeper understanding of the entire context of the subject at
hand. A deeper and matured comprehension of the research topic is necessary in order to
come up with a more solid framework from which the case study component of the research
is to be founded upon.

Method for a 11-week thesis (no more than 250 words 7% of final grade)
As chronological order on the employment of the research is important, the historical
research component is to be utilised as the basis for an eleven-week A+B thesis project.
Historical research brings to the present light what was that of the past (Wang, D, & Groat, L
2013, p. 175), this approach will allow for the researcher to study the methods that have been
employed in the rebuilding of post-disaster communities and the level of efficiency in creating
what is sustainable. Also, this leg of the research will also delve into creating a framework of
understanding for methods that effectively cater to the needs of children in post-disaster
scenarios and how such methods have been, if there are any, translated through architectural
means.
Considering that historical research is referred to as a storied and elevated mode
inquiry (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 175), the method of information gathering is established
upon a set of standards for documentation hence paves way to procuring a well organised
inventory of information to be used for the induction process. The data acquired shall be
utilised to map out the two respective frameworks from which post disaster design
approaches sensitive to children rehabilitation are grounded upon. The established network
of principles shall be studied and analysed for potential links and relationships that are to be
the basis for achieving the aim of establishing architectural standards applicable to creating
environmentally sustainable post disaster rehabilitative community design for children.

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

Timeline / Plan of Work for 11-week thesis (Annotated diagram 3 % of final grade)

Week 1

Week 2

Establishing the scope and limitation of research topic

Expand annotated bibliography and seminal references.
Collecting and collating references and data on existing post-disaster rebuilding projects

Week 3

Collecting and collating references and data on children rehabilitative management in post-disaster
scenarios.

Week 4

Collecting and collating references and data on existing childrens welfare centred architectural
approaches.

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Evaluate entirety of data findings for refinement and relevance to the research.
Data Analysis
Analyse and identify the structure and network of relationships among all the variables of refined data.
Ascertain the success variables that foster sustainability and children welfare.
Identify possible integration points for architectural translation and intervention of the success variables
and identify opportunities to which they can be translated to architectural standards.

Induction
Week 9 Refine success variables and translation of which to recommendatory architectural standards.
Finalise results and translate to diagrammatic represenations
Week 10 Re-check and proofread and subject collated and interpreted data for final consulation

Week 11

Prepare thesis for final presenation

References
o

Awotona, AA 2010, Rebuilding Sustainable Communities For Children And Their

Families After Disasters: A Global Survey, Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing,
eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost), EBSCOhost, viewed 15 March 2016.

Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, Architectural Research Methods, n.p.: Second Edition /
David Wang, Linda N. Groat., DEAKIN UNIV LIBRARY's Catalog, EBSCOhost, viewed 16
May 2016.

Woolley, H, & Kinoshita, I 2015, 'Space, People, Interventions and Time (SPIT): A
Model for Understanding Children's Outdoor Play in Post-Disaster Contexts Based
On a Case Study from the Triple Disaster Area of Tohoku in North-East Japan',
Children & Society, no. 5, p. 434. Available from: 10.1111/chso.12072. viewed: 23
March 2016.

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

Proposal 2
(No more than 1250 words. Total for this option = 30 % of final grade)
Title:
A Comparison of Case Studies: Environmental Sustainability in Post-Disaster
Community Rebuilding founded on Grass-roots Concepts Design Approach

Refined aim(s) and rationale (no more than 250 words 5% of final grade)
A paper by Fois & Forino (2014, p.272) defines the community resilience process as a
sustainable, grassroots, bottom-up response to disaster. Most of the current post-disaster
rebuilding programs are grounded on a top down framework the aim of the research is to
develop an architectural program that amalgamates the grassroots concept to ensure success
and sustainability for the community and its resilience. Self-built communities are an option
less traversed in post-disaster rebuilding efforts despite the its claimed assurance of
sustainability and resilience. a research grounded on creating an architectural program
around and for it will reinforce the value of creating more resilient communities. The research
aim is about the new theory of grassroots rebuilding that requires evaluation so in order that
its large scale implementation may be entertained as a viable option for post-disaster
rebuilding programs.
One of the barriers in sustainable rebuilding is the structural and organisational
barriers within the disaster response framework that impeded ES attempts and served as a
further disincentive to incorporating ES into programming (Abrahams, D 2014, p. S25). In
order to address this issue, the research is to be implemented to identify the level of
effectivity of the grassroots concept in designing sustainable post-disaster community
scenarios. As the relationship between community resilience processes have been identified
to be best developed at the local level making it vital that the residents are to be taken into
consideration in the rebuilding process (Fois, F, & Forino G, 2014, p. 737).

Methodology for one year of research (no more than 750 words 15% of final grade)
Through an inductive system of inquiry, the research is to be comprised of two research
strategies, namely case studies and correlational research strategy. As the research explores
the effectivity of a scenario not commonly practiced, specifically the grass roots rebuilding
design concept, induction as the approach supports this as it explores a setting viewed from
a different perspective (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 34). This approach is evaluative in nature.
It lays down the framework that will allow the researcher to identify the relevant factors and
common links that make the grass-roots design concepts more sustainable compared to other
approaches and the identification of such can lead to the recommendations for future
developments.
The first research strategy that shall be employed is a qualitative case study analysis. A
similar approach was conducted by in a social sustainability study Michael Mak (2011, p. 2)
where he derived recommendations for future development from the comparative research
results acquired. Three different case studies of post-disaster self-rebuilt eco village
communities are to be subjected for further investigation. Data from the different studies
shall be collated and analysed with a scope covering self-rebuilding idea conception, design
creation, building construction and actual living scenarios. Also, the identifying the

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

parameters used to measure environmental sustainability in each respective case study is
important as these are to be used to derive a common ground parameter for the research. As
the study is qualitative in nature it allows the research to take in holistic qualities of natural
occurrences (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 257) outlined in the case studies of interest. Data
that have been reduced are to be used towards clarification of patterns, provision of
explanations and evaluation findings to come up with conclusions to verify (Wang, D, & Groat,
L 2013, p. 249) the sustainability of bottom up community rebuilding.
The second component of the research involves a correlational research strategy wherein
this approach seeks to clarify emerging patterns of relationship among variables involved in
the study conducted (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 269). Using the collected and organised
information from the qualitative study, the correlational approach is designed to give a more
definitive measurement for the data gathered giving a more in depth analysis of the initial
findings summarised. Similarly, both qualitative and correlational research are concerned with
natural occurrences which makes the sequence transition in terms of methodology more
efficient. But it is in this phase of the thesis project where the naturally occurring patterns are
to become the main focus and wherein measurement of specific variables are given weight
and value for interpretation. The correlational research strategy employs the use of statistics
to provide further clarification of occurring patterns and their respective relationships (Wang,
D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 269).
The two research strategies are vital in the completion of the thesis project. It should be
noted that it is essential for the correlational research strategy follow the qualitative research
as this second strategy takes the data gathered to the next level for further investigation.
Qualitative research is known to have a degree of flexibility in terms of design and procedure
settings wherein there is an allowance for adjustments in the concept when necessary which
will be advantageous as the research proceeds to correlational research. But one weakness of
qualitative research is the credibility of the data acquired can been perceived as suspect with
a post-positivist paradigm. Hence in order to add more definitive context to the data, the
correlational research shall follow because this type of strategy is known to not only clarify
relationships among the variables of concern but more importantly establish predictive
relationship (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 309). The correlational research component
together with the qualitative research strategy are designed to support each other to come
up with more sound and well-grounded conclusion to achieve the research aims.

Method for a 11-week thesis (no more than 250 words 7% of final grade
For an A+B thesis project having an 11-week time frame, the qualitative case study
analysis is to be undertaken. A distinct quality of qualitative research is the evident intention
to encapsulate the various facets and holistic qualities of the phenomena or setting to the
widest possible extent (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 245). The character of this research
strategy is vital to address the aim of identifying the components of grass-roots rebuilding
platforms that foster environmental sustainability.
The process shall begin with data collection, where a selection of three post-disaster selfrebuilt communities case studies having the most similar traits and characteristics shall be
made. All the data on the emergence of these communities, from technical data, such as
demographics, disaster type and community size, to rebuilding archive details, including
planning, pre-design concepts, funding trails, construction details and the like, are to be
collated and organized as a reference inventory. Also, other forms of scholarly literature shall
be reviewed to establish definitions and parameters for environmental sustainability from
which the study is to be based upon. This is to be followed by data reduction and coding which
is important to yield conclusions from (Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, p. 245). The reduced data

2016 TRI 1 SRR782 Assignment 2

shall be further translated into display form which shall then be used to identify patterns and
relationship from which conclusions and verifications are to be drawn from.

Timeline / Plan of Work for a 11-week thesis (Annotated diagram 3 % of final grade)

Week 1

Establishing the scope and limitation of research topic

Expand annotated bibliography and seminal references.

Week 2

Collecting and collating references on grass-roots self-rebuilt communities case studies.

Selection of relevant case studies for the research.

Week 3

Data inventory for Case Study 1 qualities including characteristics, technical information, design and
construction methods, and current living conditions.

Week 4

Data inventory for Case Study 2 qualities including characteristics, technical information, design and
construction methods, and current living conditions.

Week 5

Data inventory for Case Study 3 qualities including characteristics, technical data, design and construction
methods, and current living conditions.

Week 6

Week 7

Data reduction and refinement preparation for comparative analysis.

Comparative analysis of data inventory of the qualities of the three case studies.

Week 8

Translation of initial comparative analysis results into data display or diagrams, frameworks, maps, graphs or
structures for better comprehension of collated data.

Week 9

Drawing of conclusions and interpretations from data display by identifiying relevant patterns and relationships
in the various case studies that are common ground links that foster environmental sustainability.

Week 10

Finalise results and verify information and conclusions.

Re-check and proofread and subject collated and interpreted data subejct for final consulation.

Week 11

Prepare thesis for final presenation.

References
o

Abrahams, D 2014, 'The barriers to environmental sustainability in post-disaster

settings: a case study of transitional shelter implementation in Haiti', Disasters, 38,
pp. S25-S49, Environment Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed March 23, 2016.

Fois, F, & Forino, G 2014, 'The self-built ecovillage in L'Aquila, Italy: community
resilience as a grassroots response to environmental shock', Disasters, vol. 38, no. 4,
pp. 719-739. Available from: 10.1111/disa.12080. viewed 15 March 2016.

Mak, M 2011, Social Sustainability: A Comparison of Case Studies in UK, USA and
Australia, The University of New Castle, viewed 20 May 2016, from
http://www.prres.net/papers/Mak_Peacock_Social_Sustainability.pdf.

o Wang, D, & Groat, L 2013, Architectural Research Methods, n.p.: Second Edition /
David Wang, Linda N. Groat., DEAKIN UNIV LIBRARY's Catalog, EBSCOhost, viewed 16
May 2016.