UQ Architecture students have lent their skills to assist community rebuilding efforts in tsunami-ravaged areas of the Solomon Islands.
Fifteen UQ Architecture students and two students from the University of Lae in Papua New Guinea have travelled to the Solomon Islands Western Province to participate in a two-week reconstruction program developed by Emergency Architects Australia (EAA).
Following a crash-course language lesson in Solomon Pijin, a bumpy five hour-long canoe ride and a mountain trek, the group arrived in the remote village of Keigold, their home for the next fortnight.
Keigold was established after an earthquake and subsequent tsunamis and landslides devastated the seaside village of Mondo in 2007, rendering it unsafe and forcing the community to relocate to higher ground.
Over the course of the two weeks, the students lived and worked with the Keigold community to deliver 14 much-needed ventilated pit latrines.
EAA Brisbane Director and UQ Architecture PhD student James Davidson said the experience was an invaluable addition to the students’ education and offered a greater understanding of the relevance of architecture in aid relief work.
“Architects bring a holistic approach to aid relief due to our broad focus on the social and cultural aspects of the communities we work with,” he said.
“The students were out of their comfort zone and in a situation where they had to rely on each other as well as learn to communicate with people from another cultural background in order to work together to improve a particular situation.”
Groups of students and community members were assigned to one of Keigold’s seven zones and were required to complete two latrines for their zone by the end of the two weeks.
All of the timber for the toilet project was milled locally, with both students and villagers carrying more than 500 pieces of timber from the mill to the project sites.
UQ Architecture lecturer Michael Dickson, who visited the students on-site, said the project allowed them to gain hands-on experience of architectural field work in remote areas.
“When building the latrines, the students had to consider what materials and resources were available and also quickly incorporate any changes made to the design along the way,” he said.
“The process introduced the students to the flexibility required when working in the field and the importance of building strong relationships with the community to help overcome obstacles.”
At the end of the fortnight, all seven teams had successfully built the latrines as well as personalised their toilets with unique door locks and handles and added fascia boards to the roof structure.
Master of Architecture student Louisa Gee said she saw the trip as an interesting opportunity to start using the skills she had developed at university in a real-life setting.
“As soon as we arrived and started the project it was obvious that we were not there to help primarily from a construction point of view - the men in the village were incredibly capable and much stronger than us,” she said.
“We were there to communicate the importance of certain design aspects, so that when they repeat the building process in the future they understand the importance of which parts need to be kept the same and which parts they’re able to adapt to suit their own needs and setting.”
Ms Gee said the trip was more than just a building project, as it provided a unique chance to experience work as an architect in a remote location and help a developing community.
“The trip was about meeting the basic needs of sanitation and human dignity to a deserving community by raising their building standards through well-designed and well-constructed sanitary facilities,” she said.
“It was also really satisfying seeing all the projects completed in the two weeks; seeing something grow from the beginning to the end and knowing what a difference it would make to these people’s lives was wonderfully gratifying.
“I now know how to conduct myself in the field as a project is evolving - you can’t just turn up as the architect and tell everyone what to do - you need to talk to the people you’re working with, build up a relationship, and work with them to develop the best solution for their needs.”
The trip to the Solomon Islands was developed and run by EAA with the assistance of The University of Queensland.
Media: Alice Walker at the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (07 3346 7696 or a.walker1@uq.edu.au)
