In humanitarian field, the different climatic contexts require from NGOs a huge faculty of adaptation as each situation calls for a precise answer: recent emergencies draw attention to limits of current standard tent to be adapted in all climates or in places with high daily-temperature ranges. As result, the lack of insulation materials on the field is more critical than the request of structural elements (timber or steel) and blocks, which are easily recoverable from local markets.
For this reason, potential novel shelters should mainly provide flexible living accommodation that adequately winterizes the beneficiaries; they might be compatible with standard tent structures and locally available structures (frames, simple poles, trees etc.); finally, they could be adaptable to diverse functions depending on needs (e.g. for insulating unfinished and damaged buildings).
The COCOON (Shelter-Type 3) is a living module suitable to be combined with the structural elements of other shelter-kits (e.g. poles of Type 1 – CLEVER ROOF) as well as with every locally available element (e.g. timber, bamboo etc.) that permits to hang the rings attached on the top face of each room. It allows creating a confined space to assure intimacy and protection against the elements. The material is impermeable and lined with an interior felt for thermal insulation of the module. Type 3 kit is delivered in a bag that can be carried on a person’s bag.
Each module (footprint area: 6,50 sm) provides a first partition system in emergency context. It’s possible to close the area below the type 1 with a maximum of three rooms (footprint area: 19,50 sm). It’s also possible to use the COCOON in damaged buildings or wherever existing structural elements permit to hang the room by means of belts provided within the kit.
The Cocoon can be used for all climate types. In the case of cold climate, the non-woven polyester of internal surfaces insulates the shelter. It can also be used as winter room in multipurpose tents (e.g. shelter type 2 - Multipurpose Unit). In warm and hot climates, the cross ventilation reduces the indoor temperature, while the Clever Roof work as shade net.
The set-up of the Cocoon needs max 30 minutes under normal weather conditions with two untrained persons. A clear universal manual, the low-tech design and the adaptability to diverse context facilities the erecting stages. They can be summarized in five phases: (i) unroll the Cocoon under the Clever Roof (T1) in correspondence of its central poles; (ii) attach eight short belts with tensioner to metal rings on the top face of the Cocoon; (iii) place eight long belts through the shackles of T1 poles and the metal rings of the Cocoon; (iv) pretension belts by using the tensioners of short belts attached to the metal rings. If only two persons set up the shelter, lift up a short side first, and the other one later; (v) anchoring the base though four metal pegs.
The prototype has been exposed at AidEx 2015 at the MSF Belgium test site in the Port of Brussels in November 2015.
They can be summarized in five phases:
(i) unroll the COCOON under the Type 1 in correspondence of its central poles;
(ii) attach 8 short belts with tensioner to metal rings on the top face of the COCOON;
(iii) place 8 long belts through the shackles of T1 poles and the metal rings of the COCOON;
(iv) pretension belts by using the tensioners of short belts attached to the metal rings. If only two
persons set up the shelter, lift up a short side first, and the other one later;
(v) anchoring the base though 4 metal pegs.
VISCUSO S., ZANELLI A. (2016), Insulated membrane kit for emergency shelters: product development and evaluation of three different concepts, Tensinet – Cost TU1303 International Symposium 2016 “Novel structural skins – Improving sustainability and efficiency through new structural textile materilas and design,”, in: Procedia Engineering, Volume 155, pp 342-351