Design Project 1

The second ME 313 design problem deals with designing an emergency relief shelter.

There are many specifics

noted, such as:

a) the shelter should be able to be deployed by an illiterate population or a child

b) the shelter has to be more durable than a tent

c) the shelters should be able to stack and allow for food/water rations

d) consider long-term use of the shelter- ie. after the emergency is over. * I think this point is interesting to brainstorm *

There are so many more things to consider. Such as- what type of emergency is it? Flood, terrorism, civil strife, hurricane/wind. These all affect the type of structure we design (durability, safety, temperature control, flatness of ground).

Karen and I are teamed for this project. We started out by brainstorming the essentials- structure, disaster type, deployment options, etc.

We brainstormed ideas- I'm researching origami for folding material- Robert Lang's designs for airbags, heart stents and 100 meter diameter lenses for space telescopes- all of which fold up relatively tiny- serve as inspiration.

We also discussed the idea of two elements rather than one- a main structure and then a roof. This seems potentially more achievable to design than a one-piece structure.

In the end, we decided on displaced people and refugees of civil strife to be our target user group for the shelter.


Design goals:

1. Self-Assembly- simple and safe deployment- (so that children can easily put the shelter together and it has a slow, expansion-type deployment so they are not be injured when it pops open).
2. Reinforcement for long-term use- (because many of these shelters together turn into communities that last long after the initial displacement- potentially for years).
3. Construction transparency- (so that the shelter can be easily taken apart after the disaster and used for parts- i.e., foam roof for bedding, aluminum bars for new structures, etc.)

Design features:
a. airflow under the roof
b. protection from intense sun- separate roof and dark/light colors of shelter help regulate temperature throughout the day
c. color- UN blue
d. size- can stand under it, sleeps 2+
e. single- action deployment
f. shape allows for formation of community of structures- ideal for safety, weather protection, and extended families

The following are a few images from our final presentation. (The model is 1:2.5 scale- the real thing would be more than twice as big- roughly 8ft tall and deep, and between 4 and 5 feet wide- depending on which part of the shelter you are in)