LIVING SHELTER, A SOLUTION FOR DISASTER RELIEF
Living Shelter is an affordable capsule adapted for people living in South-East Asia suffering from natural disaster.
TIME TO TAKE ACTION
42.9% of the natural disasters happening on Earth are located in the Asia Pacific region.
As world citizens and professional architects and engineers based in Singapore, we felt the urge to support the populations affected by these catastrophes. We decided to use our skills to create a shelter solution designed specifically for the climate, geography, and cultural habits of Southeast Asia.
LIVING SHELTER: A SMART TYPE OF HOUSING
The Living Shelter is an affordable collapsible capsule, easy to ship and assemble in any kind of tropical environment.
Inspired by the typical Southeast Asia ‘kampung’ house, the Living Shelter is designed with openings that ensure natural ventilation. The engineering system provides sturdiness and adaptability to hot and humid weather conditions.
MORE THAN JUST A SHELTER
Living Shelter is responding to the emergency and transitional phases. Moreover all components and system can be easily dismantled and reused separately in an entire new building on a more durable term.
The Living Shelter offers not only privacy and security, but also basic needs such as electricity, water and furniture. It includes a water bag for water collection, a built-in solar panel on the roof to charge phone and provide light, and built-in foldable furniture such as bed, hammocks, shelves, plus portable furniture. All conveniently packed in a flat pack.
By fulfilling the basic needs of dwelling, this ergonomic, safe and durable shelter would effectively ease the burden of the affected populations during the disaster relief process.
DESIGN AND ENGINEERING SYSTEMS
Our team of designers and engineers created custom-made folding mechanism to ensure that the overall structure works correctly with no need of any sort of tools.
The Living Shelter is currently being patented in Singapore for its overall innovative design and engineering as well as special features in technical mechanism.
MAJOR MILESTONE
With the 2016 theme Reporting from the Front, we are thrilled to announce that Alejandro Aravena — Pritzker Prize 2016 and Director of the Biennale — endorsed Living Shelter as an official participant of the 15th edition of the Biennale de Architettura in Venice. Global Art Affairs Foundation, a non-profit organization, will host the Living Shelter at Palazzo Mora from May to November 2016 during the exhibition Time – Space – Existence.
The 1:1 Living Shelter prototype is exhibited during the Architecture Biennale 2016, where more than 200,000 visitors can experiment the capsule. In addition to that, a panel will inform the general public about Southeast Asia’s needs. It will also demonstrate the shelter’s various configurations, and how it can be easily adapted to meet the specific needs of different communities.
This major international event in Architecture is the ideal platform to launch Living Shelter and to approach NGOs and investors.
FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN
An Indiegogo campaign is live to raise fundings to improve the Living Shelter.
We are convinced that the Living Shelter should provide what is currently the best in term of innovation and design. With this mind, we have already started exploring further the portable furniture system currently part of the flat-pack. New technology such as 3D-printed and light-weight composite materials will increase stability without adding extra weight. Design and systems will focus on ergonomic to meet the end-users usages.
Through contributing Living Shelter campaign, you can take pride in knowing that you’ve directly served the communities in need.
Support Living Shelter by contributing to the Indiegogo Campaign: Linked Text
WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE PROTOTYPE AFTER THE VENICE BIENNALE?
The prototype will be coming back to Singapore to be part of a great series of events to bring awareness to the public through exhibition, talks and workshops.
The prototype will then be donated to a public Foundation or NGO in Southeast Asia to serve its purpose of housing people in need.
The project is ready to bring its innovative solution in the disaster relief market and start to help the communities in need.