1      Abstract

The housing problem of people that suffered natural or anthropogenic disasters and were internally or externally displaced is a subject of investigation and has a lot of different aspects to be improved. Some of the main structural materials that act in the composition of the emergency shelters are various fabrics. By far the literature that exists on this matter is mainly a subdomain of a greater theme such as membrane structures. Even in a greater discussion of membrane structures, the thermal and acoustical characteristics are not usually the topics that are dealt with thorough analysis as opposed to the structural issues. Furthermore, the literature and research about the thermal and acoustical characterization of membrane composed emergency shelters are scarcer and in some cases lack details. The aim of this document is to investigate the existing research done on this narrow aspect of membrane architecture and to pinpoint prominent problems that demand further research.

2      Introduction to the topic

2.1     Textile membrane structures for emergency

Membranes in architecture are highly effective structural elements that act purely in tension and thus have a very little self-weight. Due to their structural traits, they form mainly double curved anti-clastic surfaces and can run big spans. Textiles are one of the vastly used construction materials for membrane architecture and can have decent structural characteristics. Nevertheless, this type of unconventional architecture is also fraught with deleterious properties such as the thermal environment. The structural components are usually prefabricated and assembled on site. Textile structures are a more recent development. In this regards, not so many examples and norms exist on this subject. In fact, the complete package of European norms for membrane structures is being developed in these days by the Joint Research Centre based on the chunks of regulations. \cite{Stranghöne2016}
As it is described in the Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2016 \cite{Guha-Sapir2016} from 1990-2016 years the mean number deaths from natural disasters were increasing until 2005 and then it started dropping down until 2016. This is a good tendency, however,  the number people that were affected by the disasters did not go down but instead kept continuously increasing until now. Furthermore, the statistical data shown by UNHCR \cite{overview} portrays an even more drastic increase in the total number of Refugees and IDPs (Internally displaced people) that are again a subject of a great concern for sheltering. Summing up the overall picture of emergency and the need for sheltering we can see that the post-disaster problems are becoming more and more prominent and require rigorous solutions.