Disaster Relief Plat Form

A simple easy to produce, temporary housing platform to to aid in living conditions after a natural disaster

What's Going On

Survivors of natural disasters such as the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean or the 2009 earthquakes in Haiti are left homeless. As a result victims will construct shanty camps, neighborhoods, and towns to fit the need of shelter. These camps are crowded and typically very unclean. Residents live at ground level with the camps sewage, garbage and debris from the disaster. These living conditions cause the spread of disease and can contaminate living conditions for an entire family. Further natural forces such are wind and rain can batter and demolish these make shift encampments, causing more deaths, disease and hardship.

What We are Trying to Address

The concept behind the relief platform is simple, to give people a lift. By raising people 20 millimeters off the ground the majority of the the waste, debris and sewage will not longer contaminate a persons living area. A solid foundation will also give a structure a chance to withstand subsequent natural forces, and not get blown or washed away.

Limitations

There are many solution to temporary housing after natural disasters. One of the most successful in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquakes was the ShelterBox. A ten person ten accompanied with sleeping bags, small tools, and other survival supplies. Many other conceptual design for relief efforts have been put forward all addressing the direct need for shelter. The existing problem with the majority of this current solutions is then do not address the need of a foundation. Most are still tent structures that have not base, and therefore are susceptible to rain and wind. The Relief Platform is not a direct solution. Its goal to to give survivors the necessary foundation to build a structure, by offering the occupants a dry safe place to live.

After Life

In the spirit of William McDonough's 'Cradle to Cradle', the Relief Platform can be reused in other applications. With the normality returning to an area and low level construction starting the platform can become a more permanent footing for housing. The platform can also be recycled as raised decking or as an outdoor shower platform. If no other use for the platform can be found it can always be redeployed in other disaster zones or its material separated and recycled.