It is estimated that over 65 million people around the world have been displaced from their homes as of the end of 2016, having fled their surrounds because of either natural or man-made disasters. The growing plight of asylum seekers has architects and product designers devising new ways to accommodate and restore some dignity to the daily lives of refugees on an international scale.
We previously looked at one such endeavour called Architects for Society, a non-profit band of designers from multiple countries. Their collaborative project, The Hex House is a geometry-inspired solution for people who need informal housing for extended stays.
Tackling the same problem with a more compact design principle, Designnobis has come up with Tentative. As its name suggests, Tentative emulates the concept of collapsibility in normal tents, but with much sturdier components for real living. The condensed configuration consists of fibreglass shells and durable, weather-resistant thermal textiles.
The roof of the Tentative shelter is designed to let natural light in, allow for proper ventilation and to capture rainwater to be repurposed later. Its floor is raised off of the ground by integrated legs, providing insulation against the ground frost of colder regions.
Tentative’s compressed design allows it to be flat-packed tightly and moved around in great numbers with ease. The materials with which Tentative is built makes it appropriate for almost all climates and weather conditions, giving shelter for up to 4 people inside a single unit.
Designnobis, based in Ankara, Turkey, was shortlisted for the World Design Impact Prize in 2015 for the Tentative design.
