Lightweight, Versatile, Sandwich Structure Housing for Homeless, Disaster Relief and Refugees

The structure uses common insulated FRP sandwich panels that lock into position with extrusions and can be assembled by 2 persons in 2 hours

C-B-D has designed several compact and lightweight shelters for the homeless, refugees & disaster relief. To move forward, we need:

• Partnerships from local municipalities as launch customers, zoning & social services assistance.
• Partnerships from local universities for us to hire & train engineering interns to work on detail design & testing – providing them experience & rewards.
• Pre-seed funding partnerships with investors who are committed to making their communities safer for all, and ending the misery of the homeless.

The shipping container for the structure later becomes a lockable storage bin for personal items and is large enough to store a bicycle

We will fabricate a mock-up in the Spring of 2021. The structure is assembled from 7 X 8 foot volatile-free flame retardant foam core sandwich panels and custom extrusions. The base version will be used for transitional or semi-permanent homes for the homeless. It will have electrical hookups, heat and air conditioning like a travel trailer.

Each community member would be responsible to keeping his or her unit clean, as well as the common grounds

We envision self-governing communities set up in vacant lots. The lots would be fenced with secure entry. The help of local social services would be essential in making concept work. Twelve to twenty-four units would be set up in each lot.

The same structure is used for toilet/shower facilities as well as laundry rooms. These units would be installed in each community, providing the essentials for the community members to transition back to the workforce.

The base structure can easily be combined into units 2X or 3X larger to house families. Toilet/shower in the units would be optional. More likely a compact, but separate sleeping area for the adults would occupy the toilet/shower area, as those would in separate structures in the community.

The interior wall separating the toilet/shower area is removed in this rendering for clarity

For remote locations, the units will feature solar panels, chemical toilets and an array of optional features dependent on the application, whether it be emergency housing in a remote disaster area or long-term refugee housing. They are assembled from an air-freight transportable crate measuring 3 X 4 X 8 feet.

Such structures have been around for decades, and clearly we have borrowed  from all the lessons learned in the “tiny house” concepts and “multi-use” space phenomena. Our niche will be extremely lightweight, portable, customizable AND flame retardant.

We process the sandwich structure unlike methods for aerospace applications which use phenolic prepregs, aramid core and a multi-platen presses. We have a better way. More to come.