Foldable Disaster Relief House

26 million. 26,000,000. That's how many people were displaced from their homes due to natural disasters in 2023. As a result of climate change, extreme weather phenomena are becoming more common, disrupting millions of people all across the globe. When I was researching potential ideas for the competition, I stumbled across this number and was astounded. That's more than the population of the ten largest cities in the U.S. combined. 

Hi! I’m a rising senior, and when I saw these statistics, I instantly knew that I wanted to do something to address it. Thus, my design works to provide housing for those displaced by natural disasters all around the globe.

Research:

As I dug deeper into natural disaster relief, I began to see the customary reconstruction cycle. Initially tents are brought into the disaster area to provide immediate shelter. Then, infrastructure, such as water and electricity, is established. Lastly, temporary housing is brought in. This temporary housing is a short term solution as homes are rebuilt, but it relies on infrastructure to be already in place. This hinders its actual effectiveness, as it cannot be established immediately.

This research helped me to see where I could design a niche solution to natural disaster relief. Thus, I set myself five criteria for the design process, which would allow me to fill the niche. 

1. Self Sustaining - My design shouldn’t rely on external water or power
2. Permanent - My design should be durable and spacious, providing long term housing
3. Adaptable - My design should work with all climates to provide the most benefit
4. Easy to Construct - My design should be able to be constructed without the need for skilled workers or heavy machinery
5. Fast - My design should be able to be immediately deployed after a natural disaster

Modeling: 

• Autodesk Fusion 360 
• Foam Board 
• Acrylic Paint 
• Paper
• Elmer's Glue

Construction: 

• Wood Planks
• Spray Foam insulation 
• Recycled Aluminum Panels
• TPU tarps 
• Flooring 
• Steel Rails

When I first started brainstorming ideas, I thought that I could utilize shipping containers as the basis for my house. However, I quickly realized that this would limit living space and would need heavy machinery, breaking criteria 2 and 4.

I also realized that making an easy to construct house would be similar to building the International Space Station. Astronauts had to be able to build it in space, without gravity. I looked into how NASA achieved this, and saw that they mixed prefabrication with limited onsite construction. I decided that this would be the best construction method for my design.

Despite all the brainstorming, my final idea only came to me one day during physics class. To teach us about gravitation and orbits, my teacher taught us about the unique features of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and then had us calculate its orbital altitude. It was when my teacher explained that JWST had folding solar panels that it struck me, what if I made a folding house? 

As I sketched my design, I settled on having a central hexagon, and wall and roof segments that fold outwards from this central hexagon.

My design features a central rail system that unfolds from around the central hexagon. The rails play a key role in ensuring the walls are properly aligned. The end of each rail has a wide segment to prevent the walls from sliding too far and falling off.

After the rail system is unfolded, the six primary roof segments must be lifted to approximately 80 degrees. This will allow the walls, which are then slid along the rails, to unfold. Each of the six primary wall segments consists of three accordion folded wall sections. The first panel is trapped at the end of the rail, while the other two, which have wider rail openings to fit over the wide end, are then unfolded to the right. Before the walls are fully unfolded, the twelve separate floor panels must be added in between the walls and the central hexagon. 

Next, the primary roof segments can be lowered onto the top of the walls. The two triangles that rest on top of the primary segment are unfolded to either side. Then the six other roof triangles, which are transported separately, are added to fully lock the roof in place.

The last construction step involves attaching the separate triangles that go between the supporting roof and the supporting walls.

To ensure that the design is rigid, I utilized locking hinges throughout the design. I also used what I had learned from my physics class to check that all of the forces would balance. I saw that the roof would want to cause the walls to slide inwards, so I utilized the floor to hold the walls in place.

I CADed my design with Autodesk Fusion 360, as that is the CAD software I have the most experience with. Throughout the process, I learned how to utilize joints to combine components. By making the joints revolve, I was able to simulate the hinges in my design. Thus, my model is able to fold and unfold in Fusion 360.

The central hexagon is the crux of my design. It encompasses everything that my design needs to be self-sufficient, from a water system, to powering itself. The hexagon includes a sloped roof to collect water in the unfiltered water tank. If the unfiltered tank does not collect enough water, additional rain barrels can be used. Water is then run through a reverse-osmosis filter to a filtered water tank. I elected to use reverse-osmosis because of its low electricity usage and high effectiveness. When water is needed, it can either run directly from the filtered water tank into the bathroom or kitchen, or it can go through the hot water heater first. Water from the shower and sink will be recycled to reduce waste and further enhance the sustainability of the design.

My design utilizes a combination of aluminum, wood, insulation, and tarps to construct the walls. 1x2 planks are used to make the main frame of the walls, since they are lightweight and readily available. I added insulation between the frame of my design, to allow it to better adjust to any climate.

The outside layer of walls is recycled aluminum siding. Aluminum is durable, corrosive resistant, and fire resistant, further making the design usable in any natural disaster.

To reduce weight, I used tarps to cover the inside wall. Specifically, I will use sustainable TPU tarps, which are water and tear resistant. 

My design will also include extra tarps when it is delivered to the inhabitants. They can be utilized for the occupants to separate out rooms within the structure. Tarps are the ideal material for an internal wall, due to their movability and how easy it is to hang them.

I used a similar construction method for both the wall panels and the roof paneling: aluminum sheeting, lumber, and tarps. This redundancy reduces construction cost. 

To harvest power, I have added solar panels on five out of the six roof panels. When researching solar panels, I found that the average solar panel can produce 1.5 kWh each day and takes up a space of roughly 1.5 square meters. With this, I knew that I would need at least 4 sections, but I decided to include 5. This would make up for thermal inefficiencies and other ways in which energy is lost to the environment. Adding 5 panels also means that there will be solar panels on almost all sides of my house. This will ensure that the most possible panels can be illuminated by the sun as it moves across the sky. 

Since the solar panels are connected to the central hexagon and the batteries, I have included the lighting system inside the panels. Each of the rectangular roof sections will include four LEDs and each of the triangle sections will include two LEDs. I chose LEDs over conventional light bulbs due to their efficiency and long lifespan. Thus, my design is able to operate for long stretches of time before any repairs must be conducted.

Natural Heating and Cooling: 

My design also includes a natural heating and cooling system by angling panels between sections of the roof and the wall. As the roof is supported by the wall sections on rails, I saw that my design does not need to use the other filler triangles for support. Thus, I have made them adjustable.

The natural ventilation will work together with the combined heating and air conditioning unit to maintain the desired temperature. With just the unit, my design would work in most natural disaster locations, however the natural system adds versatility. In extreme heat environments, the panels can be angled open to cool the building. As a result, my design caters to all climates and natural disasters.

Greenhouse: 

When I was designing my house, I saw that another way to make my house more sustainable was to add a way for inhabitants to grow their food. This would benefit the natural disaster victims, who likely have little to no access to food. Thus, I added a greenhouse. 

I made two of the wall panels and their roof sections out of clear acrylic to allow sunlight in. I chose acrylic over glass, due to the fact that it is more flexible and stronger. To seal the inside of the greenhouse, I once again used tarps. This will prevent moisture from leaving the greenhouse, providing an ideal growing environment. 

Furniture: 

To furnish my house, I have included two prefabricated features: a kitchen and a bed. For the kitchen, I have included a kitchen sink and an oven inside the central hexagon. By adding them to the central hexagon, I can ensure that there is no need for external kitchen appliances and have been able to consolidate all of the power and water systems.

Another essential furniture aspect that I added was a bed. One of the rectangular floor panels includes a raised rim, in which the mattress can sit. As I was designing the bed, I saw that a floor level bed would be much easier to transport than a raised bed.

The rest of the furniture that will be included in the house will be made out of lightweight cardboard. A sustainable choice, cardboard ensures that inhabitants can arrange the furniture anywhere within the house. When occupants have the ability to add their own furniture, it will replace the temporary cardboard furniture.

I wanted to showcase how my house folds and decided to use the animation workspace in Fusion 360 to do so. I made sure to animate each step in the order they should be performed in so it is easy to see how my house can be assembled on site. For time and ease of understanding I animated each of the six panels moving together, but in reality this would not be the case. A few people, who do not need to have a construction or engineering background, are able to move one panel at a time to unfold the house. It would be the equivalent of assembling a giant IKEA cabinet.

To make the model of my design, I used foam board, paint, and elmer’s glue. Initially, I wanted to make my model fold, but I saw that it would not be feasible to make the foam board fold as intended. As a result, my model showcases each of the different wall and roof unfolding steps. To make my model even more accurate, I painted it with metallic acrylic paint, representing the recycled aluminum on the outside of my design.

In the coming years, climate change will increase average temperatures, and will cause more frequent natural disasters. In the immediate extreme environments, millions of people will be displaced from their homes. My design helps to provide a long-term housing solution in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, enhancing the well-being of those millions of people. 

However, finding solutions for natural disasters after they have occurred will only provide temporary assistance to humankind. Something must be done to prevent climate-change to reverse the uptick in the numbers of natural disasters. People must make more environmentally friendly choices throughout their lives.

Through this process of designing a resilient home, I have not only enhanced my technical and design skills, but have also strengthened my resolve to be more environmentally friendly. As I was researching the design, I learned about various ways in which to make buildings more sustainable. It hasn’t taught me the usual “recycle” and “don’t leave the lights on,” but it has given me a deeper understanding of being environmentally friendly. Previously, I hadn’t known about TPU tarps or their sustainability. These insights will allow me to upgrade the environmental sustainability of the already built environment in my community. Advocacy and making others aware of these options are one way I can help upgrade my built community to be more environmentally friendly. Ultimately, these changes will make a difference as climate change becomes more prevalent.

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https://www.raymaps.com/index.php/how-to-calculate-the-area-required-by-solar-panels/

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https://www.aquacure.co.uk/knowledge-base/how-water-filters-work

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/five-ways-which-disasters-worsen-air-pollution

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disasters-displaced-more-than-26-million-people-in-2023/

https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities