The Hexayurt is a refugee shelter system based on work done at the Rocky Mountain Institute. It uses an approach based on "autonomous building" to provide not just a shelter, but a comprehensive family support unit which includes drinking water purification, composting toilets, fuel-efficient stoves and solar electric lighting. Other systems can be added in a modular fashion. Here is a one page summary (pdf).
Is this for real?[edit | edit source]
- Yes. Both the American Red Cross and the US Department of Defense have examined the Hexayurt system in detail and found that it has considerable merit and utility. I hope that we will see it in use by international agencies within two years.
- The best place to get started is to read the slides from the presentation Vinay Gupta gave at the Pentagon in December 2006: Pentagon Presentation (pdf) - 20 pages, not much text, and the best summary of the system we currently have online.
- See the Hexayurt in the Press
Can I have one?[edit | edit source]
Yes, the hexayurt is designed to be accessible to anyone. You can make your own, many people do for camping events. The do-it-yourself knowledge repository is at hexayurt playa because of the hexayurt's overwhelming popularity at the Burning Man Arts Festival.
Before Starting[edit | edit source]
Read this Safety information.
Projected Costs[edit | edit source]
- Shelter: $200 - $500+ per single family unit depending on size, climate and use duration
- Infrastructure Package: around $100 per unit
Units[edit | edit source]
Here are a variety of designs so you can pick the best for your needs. See the Master List here for more stats. See the Design Principles page to see how different designs came to be and to learn more about the design family of Geoyurts.
| Name | Sheets | People | Sqft | Volume (cuft) | Waste | Walls (in) | Center (in) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pup Hexayurt | 1 | 0.5 | 10.40 | 2.67 | No | 24 | 36 |
| Hexayurt H2 | 2 | 1 | 32.00 | 5.33 | No | slope | 41 |
| Hexayurt H4 | 4 | 1 | 41.50 | 8.67 | No | 24 | 48 |
| De La Wolfie | 8 | 2 | 90.00 | 20.67 | Yes | 77 | 77.7 |
| 5.5 Yurt | 13 | 2 | 138.00 | 32.00 | Yes | 48 | 127 |
| Hexayurt H13 | 13 | 4 | 166.28 | 34.67 | No | 48 | 96 |
| Hexayurt H17 plus | 17 | 4 | 166.28 | 45.33 | No | 96 | 144 |
| Hexayurt H8 | 8 | 2 | 64.00 | 21.33 | No | 48 | 131.14 |
| Semifolding Pentayurt | 10 | 3 | 110.11 | 26.67 | No | 48 | 118.34 |
| Hexayurt Classic H12 | 12 | 4 | 166.28 | 32.00 | No | 48 | 96 |
| Octayurt | 6 | 2 | 77.25 | 16.00 | No | 24 | 124.54 |
| 10' Hexayurt | 15 | 4 | 166.28 | 40.00 | No | 72 | 120 |
There are three shelter sizes, of which the middle size is shown. See the Gallery for photos.
- Stretch Around $100 per unit, 6' high, 72 sq ft
- 8 foot Around $200 per unit, 8' high, 166 sq ft.
- 12 foot Around $300 per unit, 12' high, 166 sq ft. Resembles a space age cabin, full standing height throughout.
- Hexayurt Frame, made from metal conduit
Materials[edit | edit source]
See Construction resources or Materials for more detailed breakdown of materials.
- Permanent use: Thermax HD (Dow)
- Temporary use: laminated hexacomb cardboard (Pregis)
- On site fabrication: Tuff R (Dow, widely used)
- Tape: Bi-directional filament tape
- Insulation analysis: Thermal analysis
Hexayurt plywood shows research on more permanent material choices.
Assembly[edit | edit source]
Units take a team of three people around an hour to assemble. They are assembled using a 6" wide, 600+lb bidirectional filament tape, and anchored to the ground like tents. No heavy lifting, ladders or scaffolding are required. Follow this link Assembly for more detailed information. Camp danger Hexayurt hinge technique has a wealth of information for the joints. Schematics shows some pictures of different designs.
Manufacture[edit | edit source]
Any wood shop or packaging factory can be taught to manufacture units in an afternoon. In emergencies, basic units can be manufactured on site with hand tools in half an hour each (only six cuts are required for each unit.) Rapid deployment cardboard cost covers how you could quickly make units on site. Rapid deployment covers some shipping information and details.
Infrastructure Package[edit | edit source]
Read more about the Spectrum of infrastructure to familiarize yourself with the various layers of infrastructure. On this Infrastructure page you can find details of hexayurt specific developments.
- 1 Wood Gasification Stove (burns wood for cooking, 3x more efficient than clay stoves)
- 2 Cold Cathode / LED Flashlights (energy efficient area lighting)
- 1 Composting Toilet (model depends on location and we are still researching options)
- 1 Water Purifier (type depends on location)
- Rechargeable AA batteries (for stove, lights, radios etc), for use in solar charging stations.
Modifications[edit | edit source]
Once you've made a Hexayurt, here are additions to make.
Door: BFD mod
Cooling: SleepBreeze personal cooler
Hexayurts are very popular at Burning Man, the Hexayurt playa and Hexayurt playa checklist pages contain all the information the burners have gathered over the years testing hexayurts.
Future research[edit | edit source]
Hexayurts in the Military
Hexayurts for Mass evacuation. An organized page summarizing the use of hexayurts in disaster situations. It covers both situations, whether people need to be housed on location or hosted at a new location.
Permanent Hexayurt construction resources
15 Main questions that need answering in the Research agenda
Blue sky idea mill and To do List
Adding Basic Education to the Hexayurt panels
Informatics strategy is how to make the yurts store, convey, and gather more data to learn more about the deployments and how they are used.
Builders' discussion page to share ideas
Funding proposal to move the Hexayurt project forwards
Availability[edit | edit source]
All intellectual property associated with this project is public domain. Contact Us if you want to get more involved in the project, or to find Events near you.
The ball is a satellite dish from http://www.gatr.com
Subpages[edit | edit source]
This is a list of the pages that are part of the project. Some editing and maintenance is needed. Contact User:Apepitone for more information.
