My name is Mauricio Ramos, originally from Colombia and currently finishing my studies of Civil Engineering at HZ University in The Netherlands. For my graduation project I have decided to collaborate with NGO Simba in the Shalimar Project where the goal is to establish an animal shelter
and a dog training center in several areas in Iran.
The idea of protecting and helping animal life and giving them the needed treatment and training to be able to start a new life, from my perspective is the least we can do since in most of the cases it is the same human being who has affected their environments.
Shalimar Project
My specific task in this assignment is to design a structure that meets the safety requirements to keep both the animals and the public safe, a friendly facility with enough space to take as much as homeless dogs and cats, and for this, an in-depth research needs to be carried out to define the potential parameters that need to be taken into account for this design.
For this project, I will be taking into account the Iranian Architecture style to include domes and windcatchers in the design. One of the challenges, and since the temperature in the summer can get very hot, is to keep the temperature low enough for the safety of the animals.
Thus, a research for an alternative cooling system is needed. At the same time, the different optional materials for the construction of the building need to be studied to find the most suitable.
Animal and environmental welfare
As long as I can remember, I have always shown interest for animal welfare. Collaborating with this project I intend to help the environment as much as I can with the use of my professional studies, and further on, create awareness on people regarding animal rights.
I would like to thank Marjan and NGO Simba for this opportunity.