Shelter Box Pavilion

Shelter Box is a simple and flexible shelter solution designed for remote areas and communities at times of disaster or distress. The basic principle of Shelter Box is to create efficient shelter space that can be flexibly occupied, and utilizes indigenous construction system, locally available materials and simple recycling methods for self-sufficiency when being used. Inspired by the traditional houses and their construction system, this design adopted some of the traditional building techniques and applied them into a more flexible, easy-to-understand, and modular standards, making it able to adapt easily with any specific context to be built on. The design stressed on the idea that Shelter Box should become a gathering node for the community. The open spaces around and below the pavilion could be utilized for multi-purpose communal functions and acts as a community gathering area. The building layout was a simple regular shape that reduced the concentration of pressure built-up and allowed free cross flow of natural ventilation through the continuous sliding window panels around the pavilion and the bigger windows placed at each end of the pavilion.

Since the whole pavilion will be constructed within six numbers of timber posts, the Shelter Box can be raised above ground for area that are prone to flooding, weak soil condition, or when extra space is needed beneath. These six timber posts are from locally available hardwood, and conventional materials and construction techniques of the pavilion will ensure that non-skilled workers can easily assemble it. The modular component system also helps in the provision of an economic shelter system. Simple sustainability strategies compliment the overall design by providing basic rainwater harvesting system for domestic and communal usages, while the WC of the shelter is connected to drying tanks that will convert human and domestic waste into renewable energy and fertilizers. The simple recycling strategy is an effort to make Shelter Box a design that is friendly to the people and the environment.