DH1 Disaster House

California architect Gregg Fleishmann has designed a foldable shelter: the ‘DH1 Disaster House’. The European birch structure is meant to be used in the aftermath of natural or human-made disasters, although it can be used to satisfy any of the client’s needs.

The one shown above is about 14 x 14 sq. feet… bigger than some Manhattan apartments I’ve seen. All of the pieces are cut from sustainable European birch plywood with resin on both sides. Pieces just fit together without screws, nails or glue, and can be built or disassembled in hours. The shelter is not really waterproof, so the architect says a plastic canvas or some kind of protection is required. Imagine a future where you go to your local hardware store and walk out with a set of plywood pieces that you just put together to build your home… no tools or fasteners necessary. This shelter is now available for about $ 22,000, although a larger version (shown below) is also available. The architect has also designed furniture with this same concept, which you can see here.