Natural Disasters happen randomly, and sometimes the unthinkable can happen, such as houses being destroyed, loved ones being lost, or power outages. When this occurs people are often faced with a long road to recovery, and one of the greatest needs that must be met is housing and shelter.   The Honduras Temporary shelter project was one that I worked in the Global Design course. The objective of the assignment was to create a temporary shelter that would house individuals that have been affected by a natural disaster. Constructed with a lightweight frame, the temporary shelter is easy to assemble and disassemble and can house 4-6 people. The design of the shelter includes separate areas for sleeping and a common space for gathering.

The initial color palette for the design was inspired by a small community in Honduras, South America after Hurricane Mitch hit the community. Before the Hurricane hit, many of the houses there boasted of vibrant blues, yellows, and oranges. The curved design of the shelters will enable them to be placed near each other, thereby allowing more units to be used in smaller areas. The material of the shelter is an accordion style, waterproof and windproof polypropylene, and produces no gases when in production and is 100% recyclable. The accordion nature of the materials helps contribute to its ease of assembly and disassembly. They can easily be propped on cinderblocks and tied to the ground to refrain entry of moisture and flood waters.  Each pod has easy to install cots, for sleeping and relaxing. These shelters will not only be a place to reside until all the circumstances are cleared out, but will be a place of hope and inspiration to start again.