A Japanese architect has been involved in quite a few experiments regarding emergency shelters. Sometimes, you need to find rapid solutions while you wait for the pre-fab containers to arrive and so you have to do with what’s available on site. Here are a few of the materials he ended-up using in extreme situations.
Pre-fab Containers: Today’s Number One Solution
The coronavirus pandemic was just the latest emergency scenario that people have to face around the world on a regular basis. From earthquakes to environmental disasters, without forgetting political and social conflicts, there is almost one location at all-time which needs to put up shelters rapidly for the injured or the ones left with nothing. Naturally, the first tool that comes to mind for all emergency workers is a shelter in kit form, which can be delivered anywhere around the world.
They can come with electricity installations inside, and they are perfect for any weather, which makes them the best way to protect and assist those in need. Pre-fab containers are easy to install so the emergency crew can prepare the base in no time, once it arrives on the location. But if it is difficult to move the material over to the endangered zone, what do you do? That is what Japanese Architect Shigeru Ban has looked into, creating various forms for emergency shelters in different locations around the world.
Shelters Made of Various Materials
Sometimes in life, you need to make do with what you have on hands when urgency is the most important element you are facing. That was the idea behind this architect’s mind when he decided to look into other materials to build emergency shelters. What he came up with is quite original.
Cardboard
Cardboard was one of his first testing grounds. He’s been working with it since 1986. He mainly uses carton tubes and to this day’s designed pavilions, schools, emergency shelters, and other structures with them
Rubber
Rubber is easily recyclableand can be used to make bricks, which assemble quickly and can provide immediate shelter. They are really light-weight and can last beyond the emergency period as well.
Bamboo
Bamboo can be found in many locations around the world. It is resistant and can also bend. Used for structural frames, walls and to build a roof, you can easily create an emergency shelter with it in no time.
Crates
You can fill the crates with sandbags, which creates a solid base to any shelter you will build on top. It is also quite useful to protect other material from the weather. These crates are usually available once you have removed other materials that have been delivered on site.