Drawing on their personal experience of losing a home, the Iranian sisters Gisue and Mojgan Hariri, founders of the firm Hariri & Hariri architecture based in New York, in 2018 they designed a collapsible capsule for disaster relief.
It is a capsule that could protect people going through emergency situations, whose design is inspired by origami.
The art of paper folding is used to generate a prefabricated modular structure that opens or closes on site, instantly.
A multipurpose folding house
The project takes an environmentally responsible approach, is affordable, easy to build and transport virtually anywhere.
the innovative structure, as mentioned, was conceived as an alternative to the old army tents that currently house the homeless in the USA. To provide a safe and supportive shelter that can respond efficiently to emergencies, the Hariri sisters designed this foldable capsule similar to a cardboard box.
The prefab modular construction has been designed with hinged and folded panels to facilitate the shipping and assembly process.
Capsule open and close at will
The folded configuration of this capsule allows it to fit flat-bed trucks. In this way it can be conveniently transported to any place and then opened on site. More than one capsule can be combined to form a variety of habitable environments, depending on the emergency scenario and the needs of the individual.
Then, with the push of a button, the capsule changes shape. It can inflate immediately for urgent arriving guests, or it can close just as quickly in the event of an escape.
In the midst of a hurricane you don't have time for a screwdriver, let's be reasonable.
Gisue Hariri
Not just emergency
The materials of the capsule are such that any government can afford to buy it: the external elements are characterized by glass panels and equitone, while the team is also experimenting with carbon fiber.
The ultimate goal is to implement these solutions globally for anyone experiencing homelessness.
But not only: in addition to providing shelter in times of crisis, the capsule can also serve as a cabin in the woods or on the beach, assembled into clusters for large musical or sporting events, and even combined into multiple examples to form a single luxury home.
Its highly practical features and interesting shape make it an ideal home that can respond to a wide variety of needs and preferences.
