Floating Community Design by NLÉ
disaster relief
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“The architects at TYIN Tegnestue – a non-profit group of student architects – designed these unusual wood prefab houses, Soe Ker Tie Hias, which translates to “Butterfly Houses,” in Noh Bo, Tak, Thailand. These eco-friendly prefab homes are named for their innovative flip-up roof design that enables effective natural ventilation while collecting rainwater for re-use. These compact wood houses are clad in locally harvested bamboo, and the material is woven using a traditional method on the front and rear facades that appears commonly in other homes and crafts done in the area. The homes are prefabricated and assembled on site, adding to their sustainable appeal. The houses are raised off the ground, set on four foundations cast in old tires, eliminating the problem of excessive moisture and resulting rot. TYIN Tegnestue
via Arch Daily”
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“The Stump Jump Flood House – if it floods, it floats.”
Read more at: http://floodofideas.org.au/the-stump-jump-flood-house/
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Formerly Homeless Man Invents Portable Shelters to Help Others
A formerly homeless Utah man has used his insight to create and build “survival pods,” or mini-shelters, to be doled out to people who currently have nowhere to live.
“I believe a person needs the dignity of something they can call their own, even if it’s only this,” Gary Pickering, a retired auto-body-shop owner in Pleasant Grove, told TV news station KSL Tuesday.
Pickering, 73, was technically homeless for three years following a divorce in the late 1980s, when he lived in his shop.
“I lost my home after I signed everything over to my wife and seven children,” he told Yahoo! Shine. “But I had a roof over my head.” Because his shop was in an industrial area, he got to know many of the homeless men who lived in broken-down cars or in other corners of the area, eventually housing four in his van during a particularly harsh winter. He learned what it was like to not have a place to live, through the men he met, who explained that they didn’t go to shelters because of reasons ranging from “They steal my shoes” to “They won’t let me bring my dog.”
The lessons stuck with Pickering, who in 2009, long after he’d gotten back on his feet, saw a homeless man while driving through the nearby town of Provo. He went home and constructed a 2-foot-wide, 6-foot-long “cocoon,” mainly out of plywood. “But when I went to the find the man to give it to him, I couldn’t find him again,” he recalled.Pickering became passionate about coming up with the perfect temporary shelter. And after years of trial and error, he believes he’s finally perfected the “survival pod”: a 4-foot-wide, 8-foot-long micro house constructed from sheets of pressed wood, a wooden frame and a roof made of soft corrugated plastic called Coroplast.
There’s room enough inside for a sleeping bag, a kerosene lamp (there are vents in the structure), several small items, and even a specially designed portable toilet. Plus, the pods can be hooked up to electricity, like a trailer, if parked on already wired property with the permission of a homeowner.
Pickering has constructed five of the pods, personally funding them at a cost of about $500 apiece, he said.
“I didn’t do this as a business, I don’t want a business. I want to inspire other people,” Pickering toldKSL, explaining to Yahoo! Shine that he’s created how-to DVDs and photos to show folks with the money and the desire to build the structures for people who need them. Then, homeless people could either pay for them slowly, “so they can have some pride in it, and say ‘It’s mine,’” or make a formal lending agreement.The pods are built on wheels, like trailers, to get around zoning codes for buildings, Pickering added, so they could be placed in empty warehouses, hangars or on a piece of ground just outside of a city. Since the story of his invention aired on KSL, he said he’s already had an inquiry from a man who would like to buy a pod “for emergencies.”
But mainly, they are meant to be temporary shelters for those in immediate, short-term crises. Considering the fact that 63 percent of Utah’s homeless population is without a home only temporarily, according to a 2012 report, the pods could really have an impact on the community.
“People can find jobs, of course they’ll move on and get their nice house back and have their cars and everything,” he said. “But till that time, this will help them.”This is great
So many microshelters and microhouses are being built on wheels because of zoning laws, and it just hammers home that even a hundred square foot house (10 by 10 cube) costs tens of thousands of dollars to get up to code, plus practically requiring a full sized lot.
Like, housing standards do exist for a reason and I’m glad it’s not all laissez-faire, but the barriers that are erected between people and shelter aren’t all incidental or accidental.
If this kind of pod shelter catches on, I think we can expect ordinances against them, and being targeted for destruction by police/city officials who think the solution to homelessness is to make an area unlivable enough that they go somewhere else.
Bless this man.
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by Bruce Johnson’s architecture studio at the University of Kansas
The 4:10 House is a disaster relief shelter designed to accommodate people who have been displaced from their homes due to natural disasters. Different solutions are used all over the world when it comes to housing disaster victims or refugees many are of poor quality and lack the fundamental elements of a home.
The 4:10 House is a modular shelter built of OSB (oriented strand board) and a vinyl fabric. Its structure consists of a series of 4x10 foot bays that can be easily added to create different sized shelters to accommodate different amounts of people. Each bay consists of C shaped ribs and a floor that attaches similar to a drawer making for easy assembly and deployability. All of the members are light weight and can be set up into an entire shelter in less than 5 hours.
The south facing wall is made of operable louvers allowing the inhabitants to control their surrounding environment. The floor allows for storage underneath the shelter and also contains “flat pack” furniture that can be taken out and set up when needed, allowing for the space to be easily cleared by placing the tables and chairs back into the floor. Bunk style beds fold down from the back wall and contain a shelf where pieces of a passive solar heating water element can be placed to provide heat at night.With an exterior skin made mostly of fabric, insulation was a large concern. Packing peanuts were used in the two end walls formed by a 2x4 frame wrapped in vinyl to provide insulation from the cool winds of most moderate climates. The ultimate goal would be to make these shelters adaptable to any climate all over the world.
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WatAir
by GEOTECTURA Architectural Studio
With an ever increasing world population, water has become a diminishing resource. WatAir was designed to provide a daily source of water to victims of natural disaster or otherwise in need. The system would be distributed by aid agencies and takes one person three minutes to assemble. WatAir collects water from dew, rainfall, rivers, or ground water. The local community benefits from a design which they learn to recreate eventually becoming independent of continued water aid.
The product comes in two main parts, a frame and a funnel. This initial set of components can be replaced or repaired over time using local materials and the newly learned knowledge on water harvesting and storage.
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softshelter · a solution to homelessness caused by disaster
by molo
Softshelter is a system for creating personal space within a larger shelter area in order to provide individuals and families with a sense of privacy and encourage community-building in the days following a disaster. Softshelter is part of molo’s ongoing research-driven exploration of materials, fabrication techniques and space-making with a focus on enhancing common daily ritual and flexible use of space.
More photos here.
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‘Bedu’ Emergency Rapid Response
by Toby McInnes
An estimated 157 million people were affected by natural disasters as of 2008. Globally it was estimated that 9 million refugees and over 25 million people were displaced due to 20 major conflicts raging around the world. A tsunami in 2004, the Pakistan earth quake 2005, 2006’s Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2006, and millions of climate change refugees over the horizon.
Current response mechanisms employed around the world are hap-hazard and often ill equipped for the scenario at hand.
‘Bedu’ emergency response pack proposes a quickly erectable rapid response, cross cultural, multi climate, solution that works within existing logistic models.
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tipu sultan merkez’ by ziegert roswag seiler architekten ingenieure, jar maulwi, pakistan
all images © holcim foundation
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/17910/ziegert-roswag-seiler-architekten-ingenieure-earthen-school-in-pakistan.html
‘tipu sultan merkez’ earthen school in jar maulwi, pakistan by berlin-based architectural and engineering practice ziegert roswag seiler architekten ingenieure has received this year's holcim award for sustainable construction within the asia-pacific region. the first level of of the two-story building is constructed with cob walls comprised of locally sourced clay, sand, straw, water and earth. resting upon brick foundations, the interior spaces are protected from moisture penetrating from the ground or rainwater. the upper floor is a bamboo framework filled with an earthen mixture.
the combined result of the structure absorbs humidity and the mass of the thick 60 centimeter bearing walls reduces the temperature of interior spaces by 8 degrees celsius during the 40 degree summer heat. local residents were able to build their new community facility by implementing appropriate construction technologies and skills which were already present within the village.
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Built by Designcorps for refugees from Hurricane Katrina in Pearlington, Mississippi.
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“Providing food and shelter to victims of a natural disaster is one of the first priorities for emergency services, but the process can often generate a lot of unnecessary waste. To help tackle this problem, UNICEF has developed an amazing reusable LEGO-inspired brick that doubles as a food storage container and a building material, addressing multiple needs in one fell swoop. Read on to see more pictures of this clever object designed by Psychic Factory! The bricks have two compartments – one that holds rice and another that holds water. Once these vitals have been consumed, the bricks are then filled up with soil and sand to give them weight and stacked just like lego bricks into temporary shelters that gives disaster victims relief from the elements. In the meantime, all of the packaging that might have been used to provide clean drinking water and food are spared, as well as the headache of sourcing and distributing them. And the best part? When this area recovers, the bricks can be re-used somewhere else!
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Islands in the stream: The extraordinary homemade dams holding back the Mississippi as desperate residents try to save their homes We’ve all undertaken home improvements but these residents in flood-stricken Mississippi have had to embark on major construction projects just to protect their houses and livelihoods. These homes in Vicksburg are all situated along the Yazoo River, a tributary of the overflowing Mississippi River, and their owners have surrounded themselves with tons of earth and sand.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1388660/Mississippi-River-flooding-Residents-build-homemade-dams-saves-houses.html#ixzz1MqSCADyc
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Last month we wrote that Tokyo-based architect Shigeru Ban was accepting donations to aid in his efforts to supply partitions to displaced Japanese earthquake- and tsunami-survivors. Yesterday,Architectural Record published the first images showing the fruits of their labor. See Ban’s trademark elegance and simplicity, aiding the needs of thousands, after the jump
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Kimberley Hoffman, from the Academy of Art University in California, designed the Sea Kettle, which uses natural sunlight to desalinate water in the emergency life raft.
ShelterBox: - About Us /
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Nice bamboo craftsmanship! built in a day.
planning and urban design: a student perspective: Harvest City / Tangram 3DS Location: Haiti Design / Project Year:... /
Harvest City / Tangram 3DS
Location: Haiti Design / Project Year: 2010
If there is one video that you are going to watch to redeem your souls with regard to the devastation that was released upon this poor island nation earlier this year, let it be this one.
Working…
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Compress is a specially designed dynamic system which provides instant space for variety of use.
Environmental, social and economic disturbances cause significant fluctuation among people. Many are left in danger and the need for shelter comes only second after basic necessities. In such case architecture plays important part in reducing the effects and providing basis for restoring continuity. This project examines the possibilities of creating First Aid Skyscraper (called Compress), easily transported in standard shipping containers and deployed all over the world. Location for this project can be anywhere from Haiti to Afghanistan. It is designed as first building on site after accidents. It shares almost military aesthetics and is intended to be in the front rows. As such it can respond to any need and provide first aid, accommodation or shelter for scientific research.
The principle that allows this innovative approach is based on a mechanism of interconnecting diagonals. The behavior of the system is regulated by applied hydraulic or pneumatic pressure on the lowest pair. Diagonals work together as a group allowing up and down movement, serving as method of uplift and structural part. Envisioned as a new construction method for high rise building, the system is based on prefabricated off-situ production.
Compress can serve as an independent unit or modular solution understanding limited floor surface and making the best of it. Each can be multiplied in infinite numbers or directions creating specialized or non-uniform structures. Installation is easy. Once on site, container shell provides platform and leveling and system of diagonals position the slabs to appropriate level. This simple method allows further modification according to new use. Vertical communication is achieved through set of standardized parts that construct modular staircase. Diagonals, slabs and staircase provide structure on which different cladding can be applied. Enclosures are incorporated in the system and share three-fold operation throughout variations. Inside, floor space is limited and can accommodate up to nine people. Different uses will organize levels as required but basic sanitation needs are located on the ground floor due to sewage and water treatment. Container shell can provide additional ground clearance in case of the big flood or ground contamination. Communication equipment is located on the roof terrace.
