Weaving a home’ by Jordanian/Canadian designer Abeer Seikaly proposes a disaster shelter for refugees that is based on temporary huts of nomadic tribes.
It reexamines the traditional architectural concept of tent shelters by creating a technical, structural fabric that expands to enclose and contracts for mobility while providing the comforts of contemporary life (heat, running water, electricity, storage, etc.).
The concept behind the structural fabric is the timeless tradition of weaving members into lightweight forms that easily collapse into flat surfaces for transport.
The various threads of the weave accommodate different purposes, for example: mesh for windows and storage, a stretchable solar fabric for sustainable energy, which feeds flexible pipes for water, heat, and electricity.
The material, envisioning a system composed of durable plastic members that are threaded to form a singular unit. These flexible envelopes fold across a central axis, with the hollow structural skin enabling necessities such as water and electricity to run through it, similar to a typical stud wall.
The tent is made weatherproof so that the refugees can live in it even in harsh weather conditions. The exposure to the weather can be controlled by its unique material and its design allowing it to contract and expand. The flexibility and the dual-layer structure of the tent allow it to close the exterior skin and protect the tent from the cold and wet weather. It can also open up for ventilation and cool air during the summers.
The rainwater is stored on the top of the tent and then it filters down through a flexible pipe along the sides to storage pockets so that the tent is not flooded. The water stored provides for the basic sanitation facilities like showering. To provide electricity, the fabric of the tent is capable of absorbing solar energy. The energy is then stored in the battery to be used in the night.
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