For four days, a group of Ball State University architecture students will learn how to build shelters from pallets for refugees left homeless by catastrophes such as wars, earthquakes and hurricanes.

The hands-on workshop will take place Sept. 17-20 and will be led by Azin Valy and Suzan Wines of I-Beam Design, the New York-based architects who pioneered the Pallet House concept.

Pallets are versatile, recyclable, sustainable, easily assembled and available around the world. And more importantly, the ubiquitous shipping materials will help students see the value of developing design ideas for shelters that could potentially house millions of refugees, said Wines.

"Pallets are ideal for building housing to address homelessness and the refugee crisis," she said. "Given the human and housing tragedies unleashed by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the earthquake in Iran in 2003 and the crisis in Sudan, it's time that students of architecture become engaged in projects that promote social and environmental healing as opposed to the celebration of wealth, arrogance and power."

Valy and Wines will oversee the construction of a village of six pallet structures in the grassy area near the intersection of McKinley and Neely avenues. At 4 p.m. Sept. 20, they will give a lecture on their efforts to promote the pallet concept worldwide.

"Students are busy assembling hundreds of pallets, boxes of hand tools and miscellaneous materials to connect the structures," said Wes Janz, associate professor of architecture and workshop coordinator. "We want to promote pallets as an alternative building system, one that can be quite functional and beautiful."

Valy and Wines conceived the Pallet House project as a solution for refugees returning to Kosovo after the war. The people needed an alternative to tents that potentially could be transformed into new, permanent homes without the need of sophisticated tools or materials.

For example, a home begins to evolve as 80 pallets are attached to make a 10' by 20' shelter. Tarps provide the initial waterproof lining until enough dirt, stone, wood or metal is gathered to fill the wall cavities and cover the roof.

Over time, filled pallets can be covered with stucco, plaster or roofing tiles. The pallet module provides flexibility, allowing families to build to their needs. The size and layout of each home can evolve, encouraging participation of the community that lives in the houses, according to I-Beam Design's Web site (www.i-beamdesign.com). 

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Janz at (765) 285-1915 or wjanz@bsu.edu.)