Ming Tang’s beautiful origami-inspired Folded Bamboo Houses are intended to be used as temporary shelters in the aftermath of an earthquake. Brilliant in their simplicity, the geometric shelters are constructed from renewable materials and can be folded into a variety of structurally sound shapes. Their elegant design was recently honored as a notable mention in this year’s Re:Construct competition sponsored by San Francisco’s Urban Re:Vision
Ming Tang came up with the idea for his Folding Houses after a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck central China last May, killing 69,000 people. Upon learning that the Chinese government planned to create up to 1.5 million temporary homes, he decided to design a shelter that was easily produced, cheap and environmentally friendly. His geometric folding houses are beautiful, dynamic, and can adapt to respond to the needs of different situations.
The concept utilizes a system of bamboo poles that are pre-assembled into rigid geometric shapes. The geometry of these forms provides each structure’s integrity, allowing a range of lightweight modular structures to be quickly assembled in factories and transported to their destination. Once constructed, the shelters are then covered by using post and pre-consumer recycled paper.
These are beautiful! I think they’d be great not only for emergency shelter but also as an alternative to PVC tents at wedding receptions, family reunions, and picnic events.