Designing a Resilient Tsunami Shelter

Hi! My name is Ella, and I am a rising Junior in high school. I have around 10 months of experience with using Autodesk software, and around 5 months of that was with Revit.

In the event of a tsunami, getting to shelter in time is key to survival. This project was created with the goal of it being applicable to any area with frequent tsunamis, such as those in the 'Ring of Fire' zone.

In this project, I used:

• Autodesk Revit 2024
• Autodesk Fusion
• Enscape for Revit
• Sketchbook
• Pencils
• Erasers
• Rulers
• Highlighter

I knew that I wanted this project to be as realistic as possible in the event that a tsunami occurs, so I set out to research.

First, I researched the qualities of a tsunami. I learned that most tsunamis occur in an area in the Pacific Ocean called the 'Ring of Fire'. A tsunami can be formed due to an underwater earthquake, where the seafloor moves up or down, causing water to be displaced, which creates a tsunami wave. Other causes include volcano eruptions and landslides, both of which can cause a large disruption in the ocean.

The country with the most recorded tsunamis is Japan, with a total of 143. Knowing this, I researched past tsunamis in Japan, and came across the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, where almost 16000 deaths and over 6000 injuries were reported. In the 'Before and After' satellite images of the affected areas, all were close to the sea, and most were left barren, with all greenery getting wiped out and buildings collapsed and swept away. In Sendai, for example, most damages occurred along the coast, but entire areas were left devoid of any sign of life.

Next, I researched the qualities of a tsunami resistant structure. Examples that I looked into were the Cannon Beach City Hall design and the Shoalwater Bay Tribe's Evacuation tower. Even though these structures had their differences (one is a shelter, and one is a temporary place for refuge), they utilized similar materials and methods. From a first glance, one thing that pops out about both of these structures is the usage of stilts or columns underneath the actual floor of the building. This allows water to pass through the building, without creating too much of an impact on its structure. Additionally, both of these structures made use of reinforced concrete in its walls and columns (concrete with steel rebar in it to make it stronger). In my own design, I opted for reinforced concrete as the flooring material as well.

Other factors I considered included: number of entrances and exits (and where they were located), amount of space that should be allocated per person, facilities such as restrooms, power sources, and equipment, as well as storage for first aid and food. In order to provide a comfortable living situation for the refugees, I opted for at least 22 square feet per person, and 1 gallon of drinking water per person, per day.

Now that I had all of my design and structural requirements laid out, it was time to put it on paper so that I had a visual representation and reference before I started the 3D process on Revit.

Even though the shelter itself would only be 80x80 feet, I decided to create a large area of land around it to represent the urban area this shelter would usually be in, due to its large capacity. The most striking thing about the terrain is the height difference from the sea and beach to the shelter. Because tsunami waves can reach up to 100 feet tall, shelters should be at least 100 feet above sea level.

To visualize this, I created a 'Top View' and 'Side View' of the terrain in my sketchbook. The side view shows the different elevations of the terrain, and the top view shows the different sections.

Next, I sketched a 'Top View' and 'Side View' of the actual shelter. The top view shows the shelter from the top, but with the roofing and ceilings removed so that all of the rooms are visible. The side view shows the exterior of the shelter, including the roof and columns, as well as what materials would be used for each part.

To start the 3D process of this project, I first used Revit to create the terrain I had drawn out in my sketchbook with the exact specifications and measurements. I used water to represent the sea, sand to represent a strip of beach, and grass with dirt under for the rest of the terrain.

Now, it was time to create the actual shelter in Revit.

First, I created the first "floor", which is made up of four thick reinforced concrete columns, and stairs on the sides that lead up to the entrances. The entrances are at the side of the building by design, so that in the event of a tsunami, water will not be able to easily break through the doors and into the shelter. The columns on the first floor are 10 feet tall, which in addition to the 100 feet elevation from sea level provided by the hilly terrain, is more than enough to provide cover from a tsunami wave.

Next, I started work on the second floor, where the refugees will actually be located. On my sketches, there were 8 different rooms, but for the actual model, I decided to create 6 only. The rooms are: one large main area where the refugees will stay, one women's restroom, one men's restroom, one room for tending to first aid and injuries, one room for storing the backup generators, and one room for storing the water tanks and heaters.

For the roofing, I decided to go with a thick metal material in a slanted roof. This was by design so that the roof would be able to withstand debris or water without collapsing in on itself. I also added a gutter at the end of the roof to collect any water that runs down its length to prevent water from leaking into the shelter.

Now, it was time to furnish the shelter. For the main room, I added in sufficient lighting and shelving for food and basic necessity items, while keeping the floor clear to fit many refugees.

The men's and women's bathrooms are identical, with each having 12 toilets and 9 sinks.

In the first aid room, I included three hospital beds for the severely injured people. The reason for the small number of beds is that since this is a shelter, most people should be able to get to it in time before large waves hit the land.

Additionally, three water tanks that can hold 353.16 cubic feet of water at a time and 10 water heaters were included to ensure that everyone has enough hot water to drink and use. 2 backup generators that each produce 125 Kilowatts of power were placed in a separate room to power the lights and water heaters.

Now that almost everything was done, I added in trees to make the final rendering look better and less barren.

After that, I exported the file as a .sat file to Autodesk Fusion, where I polished it for rendering.

This is the final version of the exterior of my shelter!

The first image shows it rendered in Revit, while the second shows it in Fusion 360, in a simpler style.