Studio Exercise 2.

Identify how the understanding of “home” has changed over time.

In Porteous's article he describes home as one's place to be dominant and territorial over, whereas in Mallett's article she describes home not only to be a physical place but a place that has sentimental value, e.g. where an individual's family is, individual connections to a place etc. Porteous describes home under the territorial triad: security, identity and and stimulation, in the end it results in self satisfaction and what an individual can gain and find their self in their own home. Whereas Mallett is concerned with the journey and how one creates their own home. 

Description of the concept of home.

Traditionally, a home is defined as to be the physical space where an individual lives, however this definition has evolved over time to be the space in which memories and feelings encompass the ideas of comfort and security. ‘…space inhabited by family, people, things and belongings’ this capture the feeling of familiarity a home provides. Through the actions and interaction that take place in a house, ‘nostalgic and sentimental' memories are formed. However, home does not have to be defined just where your family lives, it is primarily where the individual considers home, for example, an individual could be residing by themselves and consider that space to be their primary home rather than the place where their parents/ family members reside.

Conduct research on your clients: the dwellers displaced by a natural disaster at your nominated location.

Chosen location: Eastern India, Bangledesh

Consider the following questions:

• Who has been affected? How have they been affected?

The floods have inundated home and businesses and destroyed crops, a major problem in a region known as the Rice Bowl of India- Andhra Pradesh.

More than 70,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying villages, and train routes have been suspended because some of the lines are underwater. 

Many drowned when they were swept away by surging waters or were killed when weakened walls collapsed onto them.

Conditions: packing winds of more than 200km/ hr, uprooting trees, overturning trucks, snapping power lines and flooding large tracts of farmland. 

Consequences:  

• Landslides, due to the floods, damaged several houses and structures, killing those who were trapped.The heavy rains resulted in large flash floods and massive landslides. 
• The roads were seriously damaged at more than 450 places, resulting in huge traffic jams, and the floods caused many cars and other vehicles to be washed away. 
• Inundated with water, mud and boulders from the landslide, damaging its perimeter.
• The flows of river water restricted and the streamside development activity contributing to a higher number of landslides and more flooding. 

•  What are their needs and vulnerabilities?

 Dry food, water packets and medicines.

•  Are they in an urban or rural location?

 Urban- It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population.

•  What housing existed before the natural disaster? How did it deal with the division of spaces, privacy, security, climate control?

•  What are the climatic conditions? Cold climate? Warm, humid climate? Hot, dry climate?

Andhra Pradesh climate is generally hot and humid.  The major role in determining the climate of the state is played by South- West Monsoons. July to September is the season for tropical rains in Andhra Pradesh. The state receives heavy rainfall during these months. About one third of the total rainfall in Andhra Pradesh is brought by the North- East Monsoons.  

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Andhra_Pradesh] 

•  Do those displaced dwellers have cultural or religious traditions which influence their apparel, day to day activities, or social interactions?

Traditional clothing: 

• Men and women in India are draped and wrapped according to tradition, history and location. A dhoti or lungi, which is a loose skirt- or shorts-type wrap for men, is common in rural areas and in high heat, and most often it is worn alone, without a shirt. 

[Source: http://people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/national-traditions/indian-tradition2.htm]

Social interactions:

• Social interaction is regarded as being of the highest priority in Indian families, and social bonds are expected to be long lasting. All social interaction involves constant attention to hierarchy, respect, honor, the feelings of others, rights and obligations, hospitality, and gifts of food, clothing, and other desirable items. Finely tuned rules of etiquette help facilitate each individual's many social relationships.

[Source: http://www.visitnortheast.com/social-interaction.php]