A new affordable, sustainable and transportable house designed by CarterWilliamson specifically for use in the world’s disaster areas is ready to be rolled out for humanitarian use around the world and a prototype is being showcased at Nowra in rural New South Wales.

GRID house as it is called can be built if necessary in three and a half hours and can house eight to ten people, and includes sustainable features such as solar panels and natural light and airflow, and a mezzanine level for sleeping and privacy.

GRID, named after the Norse goddess of peace, was originally conceived as a response to the tsunami in Banda Aceh.

BVN Donovan Hill and Woods Bagot also erected their first working prototype of their emergency shelter in Federation Square last week. Now in its third year, the Emergency Shelter Exhibition (ESE) organised by Jun Sakaguchi and The Arc Agency brought together the design community to raise awareness of the role that the property industry plays in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Jane Williams, Principal, BVN Donovan Hill said the shelter provides essential functional requirements and is also aspirational in its exploration of how an individual or a family, experiencing a traumatic natural disaster and might inhabit a shelter for a period of time.

“Central to our thinking has been designing a shelter that provides a sense of joy, delight and spatial experiences that are nurturing in a time of tragedy and displacement. By questioning what the internal and external qualities could be, we can design shelters that provide meaningful spaces-private space for individuals and families, enabling children to play and groups gather without it being in a central hall used by hundreds of people,” said Williams.

CarterWilliamson's design however, has been developed over several years and the structure is now ready for use in either remote areas or areas hit by natural catastrophies – flood, hurricane and earthquake.

“In a world increasingly challenged by man-made and natural disasters, we felt it was vital to develop a reliable, cost effective, sustainable housing model, which can be assembled quickly and transported cheaply and easily to diverse and remote locations.” said Shaun Carter, Principal of CarterWilliamson.

“Most emergency housing is not designed for long term living, and is unhealthy and unsafe. People deserve better, “Carter said.

“Our design overcomes all those problems, and is essentially a permanent home. It is also scalable to a macro level – depending on culture and location, GRID can configured in a number of different ways, and can be installed on or off municipal services. We envisage up to 500 homes on a single site, forming a real community or village.

“GRID’s clean lines and modest materials belie the sophistication of its design.

Inverted Acrow props, traditionally used for scaffolding, are reinvented as its support columns and can be adjusted to suit large variations in devastated terrain.

The prefabricated flat packed structure, based on a 2.4 metre unit system of standard material lengths and truck-load capacity, can be easily transported to remote and inaccessible locations and assembled by four unskilled workers in one day."

The ultra-fit, fully insulated, steel-frame structure utilises photovoltaic cells and a roof-mounted solar hot water system; rainwater tanks collect roof water; and barndoor windows ensure the building is thoroughly ventilated.

Sanitary amenities, including a composting toilet system and a shower along with gas bottles for cooking, re located on two external perforated metal decks to maintain hygiene and to isolate these activities from living and sleeping areas.

Image: GRID designed by CarterWilliamson