But as for its existence, they put the time, effort and energy into creating these things full-scale, AND using them. That first picture was taken from a first- or second-story window from Smith Hall. As for the snow, Photoshopped? Really? Seriously? I’m not going to take jabs at anyone’s design skills or the lack thereof, but I really just felt that as a witness, I should stand up for those who actually did put in the work, and actually used what they made.

-Marquith Muhammad

First off, I didn’t post this looking for recognition. It was ripped off of my coroflot account because it was a student project done several years ago.

If you think this is photoshopped, you have obviously never used photoshop before. But you right, we didn’t build a full scale model of this… We built two… and lived in one for 4 days in march of 2006 in Syracuse NY… that is where the snow came from genius.

This was designed as a “first response shelter to help disaster relief victims”… In situations where roads are unusable hense FIMA TRAILERS can not be used… That is because they have wheels ( round things that need roads to roll on).

This project was about identifying a serious problem and attempting to solve it in 3 WEEKS with a full scale and real solution… Let me know when you come up with a better one cause I would love to comment on it…

Grow up

I was however, a little skeptical after reading some of the comments read here. I think that the principle of a structure made from polyethylene is a sound one. Polytunnels are made out of polyethylene. I think the idea of having an archway shape to resist wind is also a sound principle, since the archway is one of the strongest shapes in nature. It should resist the wind, provided it is not facing the wind. In this case, the wind would rush through the structure.

As far as hereitcomesagain’s remark:

“Also, refugees in camps generally are cooking, if not heating, with fire. Try to tell me that thing isn’t a big flat chunk of folded petrol. I see photoshopped snow on one illustration. How are they heating in there? Charcoal? Propane? Where do the toxic gases and smoke escape?”

I should like to point out that NOBODY builds a fire in a tent, EVER. Any cooking in a refugee camp would be done OUTSIDE of a living structure, likely in a camp kitchen. As far as heating goes, there would probably be no direct heating inside. On extremely cold nights, you could bring hot rocks or hot water bottles into your structure to warm up your sleeping bag. After all, there is no heating in an Igloo, and these are warm enough to live in. As the designers stipulate, insulation for a structure such as this could be provided by packing earth or snow around the walls (provided the walls can withstand this).

What I am mostly disappointed to learn though, is that this design is a rehashing of something which has already been done, and done much better, more than forty years ago. I am referring to the migrant shelters which biscuit has pointed out.

The use of kraft paper AND polyethylene makes these structures not only cheaper and lighter, but also more breathable so you don’t end up suffocating in what is essentially ‘a big plastic bag’ (as ‘hereitcomesagain’ points out.) Making the structure breathable also eliminates condensation within, so you don’t have to worry about the constant drip, drip, dripping of everyone’s sweat and the moisture from their breath collecting on the ribs of the ceiling.

A comment above mentions the cooking aspect of the shelter. It is important to consider this in any shelter design- a stove pipe aperture should be factored into the overall design from the get-go. However many cultures will not cook inside and prefer an outdoor area behind the sleeping shelter, making the aperture a good option but not a standard feature. This design could benefit from some soffit vents and serious consideration to water collection/ drainage, how? where?

Anyways, the general ideas are going in the right direction…but always keep thinking. This would be a sleep-only shelter and probably only for emergency use (immediate deployment)- the market is tiered: Emergency (think tarps), Temporary (1-6mos), transitional (6mos-2yr and often using materials that could be integrated into a permanent home) and then semi-permanent/ permanent,

I am babbling…

http://www.ecodesigninstitute.org/Portfolio/Community/migrant-worker.html

Van der Ryn’s project was more thoroughly realized, with solutions for doors, windows, and floors…and was actually executed full scale and used for shelter- not just one, but a whole camp full. He received multiple design awards for this project.

Its unfortunate that a rehash as blatant as this (and as incomplete, even conceptually!) is touted as something new and cutting edge. Boo!

Also, refugees in camps generally are cooking, if not heating, with fire. Try to tell me that thing isn’t a big flat chunk of folded petrol. I see photoshopped snow on one illustration. How are they heating in there? Charcoal? Propane? Where do the toxic gases and smoke escape?

check out:
http://hoberman.com/portfolio/rapidlydeployableshelter.php?myNum=14&mytext=Rapidly+Deployable+Shelter&myrollovertext=%3Cu%3ERapidly+Deployable+Shelter%3C%2Fu%3E&category=&projectname=Rapidly+Deployable+Shelter

how does one close the door? what about drainage? flooring? how much does it weigh? how does one integrate cooking? heating?

have the designers talked to a single person who actually works with emergency shelter? kudos for an elegant structure, but i wish more designers would just start with an internship at UN-HABITAT…