When a 6.3 magnitude earthquake hit central Italy in 2009, more than 250 people died and around 65,000 people were left homeless. The tragedy inspired a group of designers to create a concept portable shelter that would be useful in emergency situations like this.
Cyprian designer Letymbiotis Konstantinos made a concept portable shelter called the ‘Home-Economic Capsule,’ designed to provide basic needs for the refugees and a shelter that is easy to transport.
“The basic idea of our project was to create a shelter which would combine all the necessary spaces required for living. This shelter should provide to a resident efficient live-conditions until he/she finds a permanent home,” wrote Konstantinos on his website.
The shelter uses plastic walls that can be manipulated to provide maximum function for a small space. Walls can be detached or reattached to increase the space of the are in use. The shelter includes two solar panels on the roof to provide energy at night.
“Each room is specified by plastic walls that can move by adjusting the length of the corresponding room. The walls are in a specific sequence and each wall fits to the next one for economy of space.”
In the project’s official website, designs of the plastic walls and how the shelter is assembled are pictured. The plastic walls, which include the bedroom wall, the kitchen wall, the living room wall and the shower wall, can be fitted on one side of the shelter so refugees can maximize its space.
The Home-Economic Capsule’s compact size makes it easier for agencies to transport to relief sites so that it can be monitored by emergency personnel.
via: Letymbiotis
