Research Proposal - Disaster Container

Summary Statement of Proposed Research:

With the recent natural disasters that have plagued the world, the need for sustainable, green, and safe temporary housing has increased.  The current shelters that are provided are generally nothing more than a nylon tent, which offer little protection from the elements and no safety.  

The idea is to design a proper shelter out of a shipping container and other recycled material that would be able to support a family, and could be easily shipped to natural disasters all over the world.  Each disaster container would come equipped with solar panels to generate its own power for lights and heating/cooling systems, a water filtration system, and a dry composting toilet. As price is always an issue a part of the research would be deciding whether or not these Disaster Containers are actually a feasible option.

Purpose:

The purpose of this research is to design a superior shelter out of a shipping container and recycled materials that is mostly self sufficient. It would be able to adequately house a family, while providing them with all the amenities that living in a standard house would offer.

Goals and Objectives:

The goal is to produce a safer, healthier, and greener shelter design for the victims of natural disasters all over the world.  At the end of my research I plan to have a completed design and research paper that outlines the feasibility of a Disaster Container and the overall effect it could have globally.

Methodology:

I will begin by researching what types of shelters are currently being provided for the victims and survivors and volunteers of natural disasters. I will determine what the people actually need to live and/or provide aid to others. Next I will determine if a shipping container is actually large enough and strong enough to comfortably support a small group of people.  I will research some of the mechanical systems that are currently located in RV’s and see in what way they can be incorporated into the design.  Then I will research and compare sustainable equipment that could be incorporated into the design like solar panels, dry composting toilets, and water filtration systems.  Next I will do an estimate on the cost of all the components and provide a preliminary cost of all the components combined and installed.  I will then combine all the results from my above research to design a Disaster Container that is safe, healthy, and green that incorporates all the needs of the people for different areas of the world. Once that is complete, I will create a building information model.  All of the information will then be coalesced into a full report that indicates whether or not Disaster Containers would be feasible to construct and distribute.

Previous Studies:

Many of the studies that have been done are focused on full scale housing being built out of shipping containers. One article I found “Haiti Earthquake: Converting Shipping Containers Into Emergency Housing” by Clemson University is a very similar idea to mine but they just focus on Haiti and not a more global solution.  Other studies have been done on the bearing capacity if the container like, “Stacking Shipping Containers on Land for an Off-Axis Detector” by J. Cooper, J. Kilmer, B. Wands Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Batavia, IL 60510, proves that the vertical bearing strength of a container is much more then would be needed for residential construction.  There are other shelters that people have designed that are able to fit into a shipping container, but this idea of constructing it out of the shipping container itself is somewhat different, and I think makes more sense.

Plans for Dissemination:

The plan is to have an online blog where updates will be posted weekly for peer review and to promote feedback, also people can post any questions or ideas about the research.  I would also like to submit a story to an online website called http://inhabitat.com this is a web site which accepts user created stories and promotes green ideas for all areas of life and has a section on disaster relief housing.