A Modern Concept of Shelter

House designs by Arch Marvin Mijares.

A concept of shelter today is protection, derived from the root word "shell." Before anything else, residences as shelters should provide safety and protection, not just posh design. First of all, there are the elements to protect inhabitants from, like sunlight, rain, wind, storm, and pollution, to name some. Second, protection from criminal elements. Third, privacy protection. And fourth, protection from social discrimination. Complete aesthetics, after all, is protected beauty.

Protection from the Elements

The Philippines, being along the equator, is a frequent path of tropical depressions and storms, and more recently, super typhoons. Moreover, being in the tropics, we are often hit by severe sunlight plus dryness in summer which often result to drought. In addition, recently we saw how severe flooding and earthquake can likewise devastate structures  Architectural shelter design should then give allowances for these factors to provide a concept of shelter.

Protection from Criminality

Houses, big and small, should consider criminality factor in design. And we should bear in mind that the bigger and more attractive the design, the more prone it is to criminality--robbery, intrusion, kidnapping, abduction, hostage-taking, and the like. This is not anymore something outrageously unlikely in our times. These things happen and building planning have a hand in their prevention. Aside from securing openings with sturdy covers, locks, and decorative steel grills, planners should also start considering "inhabitant orientation."

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Inhabitant orientation is the system of positioning inhabitants inside a structure in such a way that they find themselves often facing approaches and accesses to where they are instead of having their backs on them. For instance, residents washing dishes in the kitchen or washing clothes in the laundry area should always have a good view of people coming into their area instead of having their backs turned and not knowing what's happening behind them.

Privacy Protection

Inhabitants should always feel secure and safe from public view or scrutiny when doing something of utmost private in nature. Walls, roofs, and closing options on openings should take care of this need, as well as CCTV cams and hidden security gadgets, which can also help secure residents from criminal elements.

Social Discrimination

Finally, a concept of shelter in the modern sense should also talk about creating an apt or relevant design quality for the shelter that makes its inhabitants safe from social prejudice or ostracism. A house or office design incongruous to the context of its neighborhood will expose its inhabitants to possible criticism and banishment. Thus, shelter should be presentable enough to the community it belongs to.

To have your house or office designed aptly and relevantly to its immediate milieu and to the times, inside and out, consult our friend Arch Marvin Mijares using the Contact Form on the sidebar. Please see his projects via the video above, which is also a sample of the video service we offer for your special events.