PROJECT DESCRIPTION:
An important aspect of a transitional shelter is how quickly it can be deployed and assembled on site. This proposal employs the use of computer numerically controlled (CNC) manufacturing processes and technologies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of pre-fabricated building components for transitional shelters. CNC fabrication allows the design for the shelter to take custom specifications while utilizing readily available materials. This design proposal uses cardboard as the standard building material for the transitional shelter. The advantage to using cardboard is its recycl-ability and adaptability to various shapes and forms. Through the use of CNC fabrication, specifically nested-based manufacturing, material waste can be greatly reduced. All of these design and manufacturing strategies combine to produce a transitional shelter which would be easier to fabricate, assemble, and recycle than the current FEMA trailer model used in New Orleans. When Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area in August of 2005, it devastated the city and its suburbs. The town of Chalmette in St. Bernard's Parish, a suburb to the South East of New Orleans, was one of the worst-hit areas. A week after the disaster, ninety to one hundred percent of the homes in the area were without power. A year after the storm, there had been very little done by the local and federal government to restore the area. This transitional shelter proposal takes the approach that people should live in their own neighborhood while they rebuild their community.
Studio Web Page: http://www.studiorecover.virginia.edu/recover.html
