IKEA Refugee Housing
July 10th, 2005
Some people have been asking about my passing reference to a refugee houseboat I designed with Alice B. Phillips, so here’s some more swag. We based the visual style of our designs on IKEA instruction booklets. The whole thing folds up into a quarter of a shipping container, and assembles on site in under an hour. Dishes and silverware included.
A large version of our IKEA drawings can be found here and a PDF here
(We’ve posted this project to our WebDesign project pages, with new photos and information. Link)
Popularity: 12% [?]
July 10th, 2005 at 1:31 am
>>“We based the visual style of our designs on IKEA instruction booklets.”
All i’m thinking is those “alternative designs” in the back of those lego instruction manuals...
July 10th, 2005 at 1:37 am
There’s also a lot of interesting shipping container related work, where the structure itself is the container. article
If I remember correctly, my friend Jesse Karp was quite involved with a firm called LOT-EK in NYC that specialized in shipping container structures.
...also, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum featured a similar project by Australian architect Sean Godsell.
July 10th, 2005 at 4:29 am
Interesting, both the design and concept. But I also wonder about the cost both of making these, the enviromental friendlyness of these, and the efficiency of this vs. the concrete canvas refugee buildings. (You can find more information here: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002345.html )
Also potential building materials would be interesting to know about.
July 10th, 2005 at 9:30 am
Agreed, the bulk is an issue for sustainability – but we decided a few things in the design process. First, durability allows these to transition to longer-term housing. 2nd, having houseboats allows them to be set up close to a city center – most metropolitan areas are based around a river or coastline. 3rd of all, the fully wooden interior is a building technology everyone can relate to (technologically) and modify, meaning that these can transition in their usage easily.
I’ve also heard that many shipping containers are apparently being discarded for drug-trafficking related issues (drugs can be hidden in their bolt-holes or something) so there may be a large supply of containers available.
We blogged the concrete canvas building as well, which is a terrific and delightful idea.
July 21st, 2005 at 11:17 am
also, totally off-topic: your renderings totally remind me of this fun little game called Fly Guy.
August 22nd, 2006 at 12:22 am
[...] Related Posts: Shipping Container Refugee Housing, Curtain House, Vasariano Corridoio [...]
November 30th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Well, there are some fundamental flaws with your house; but you’re definitely thinking in the same direction as I am. (the right one?)
$40,000 for a lot of land is 10 years of my life spent working instead of enjoying.
Some problems with this include:
– inadequate protection from rain – need an MD3 toilet in the US (poo tank.. eww) – sure you have water, but food? – I assume there’s no power on this raft? How do you heat the water for a shower? How do you pump the water?
My conceived solution looks alot like a miniature of Sydney Australia’s famous opera house. Lots of dacron, clear pop bottles for various things, high quality plywood floors and epoxy.
Still don’t have a kitchen, or washer/dryer; but I ought to make enough power for lights, laptop, and water pumping and heating.
I’ve been reading about the possibility of putting pop bottles semi-submerged with plants in them. But in all honesty I don’t expect to grow my own food.
Total cost for materials at Home Depot: $9,180.
Total square footage: 728sf.
Sincerely,
Dan
January 24th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Lets hear it for sustainable conscientious design for those in need. Good work guys.