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As complex as it looks, the ARK isn’t too hard to set up. It comes with a lightweight military-grade telescopic carbon fiber frame, which is a pretty big upgrade from your standard tent poles and tarp. Of course, this inflatable frame is what gives it the extra stability it needs to be roomy and comfortable, whether you’re setting it up on the ground or between a few trees. Inspired by kitesurfing technology, the frame also holds the tent erect in stormy conditions. On top of that, a multi-anchor strap system gives you virtually infinite possibilities for suspension set-ups, including using a single hook point to hang it from something like a bridge or branch overhead.

A description on the ARK’s Kickstarter page explains that “a classic camping stretcher weight is usually around five to 10 kg, and it’s bulky. Thanks to our carbon tubes we have reached the weight of 2.9 kg. In addition, our telescopic system allows unparalleled compactness for easy transport. This type of profile has a highly specific mechanical resistance (related to its weight), lightness, rigidity, great resistance to fatigue and vibrations, resistance to oxidation and corrosion, a low coefficient of thermal expansion, and durability.”

Designed for either a comfortable single occupant or a tight fit for two, the ARK measures about 38.5 inches tall and 122 inches wide once assembled, and when it’s in hammock mode, the floor creates three storage areas for all your gear, so it stays dry no matter what’s happening outside. It packs down reasonably small, too, at about 8 by 20 inches for the compression sack and 27.5 inches for the poles (both of which can be strapped to your hiking pack like a normal tent).

Another cool feature is the transparent roof, made of high-quality medical polyurethane to resist extreme temperatures and rain while giving you a view of the stars. Fabric shutters let you close it if you’d rather shut out the morning sun, and stiff Dacron fabric and kevlar reinforcement keep the whole thing from being damaged or punctured by falling sticks and rocks.

As you might expect, the ARK hammock tent costs a little more than something you might pick up at REI. The complete kit, which includes the tent, carbon frame and cam straps, was recently offered as a reward on a recent Kickstarter campaign for €1,895+ ($2,240). Shipping is set to start from France to the United States in April 2021, and it will likely be available on the retail market around that time as well.

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It’s a loss for Wright’s legacy, for the school’s 30 current students, and for the world of architecture, particularly considering how interesting Taliesin student creations tend to be. Incorporating key elements like sustainability, natural materials, and harmony with the surrounding landscape, these temporary structures — particularly those in the Sonoran Desert at Taliesin West — are anything but typical. Here are a few of the students’ standout structures.

Simon de Aguero created this unusual wide-open desert home almost entirely from found scraps and local materials, with a core structure built out of rammed earth. The core design is an abstracted tribute to the way boulders jut out of the earth in the desert, with a stretched vinyl shade hovering like clouds overhead. And since the climate in question precludes the need for full walls, windows, or doors, the design really enables a refreshing level of interaction with nature. The ability to build a fire beneath the bed platform is a particularly cool feature.

“Little Shelters” is a collaborative student project built with a $2,000 budget using as many on-site resources as possible. Daniel Chapman, Mark-Thomas Cordova, Jaime Inostroza, Dylan Kessler, Pablo Moncayo, Natasha Vemulkonda, and Pierre Verbruggen spent 12 weeks constructing two shared shelters and a gathering space that could be used and maintained by future students, as well.

Student Jaime Inostroza also created the Atalaya Shelter, which is rooted in a desire to deeply understand the landscape itself. The design sprang into his mind when he first encountered the perfect site for it. He explains: “It was like secret place hidden in the wash, covered by the shadows of the trees and looking out at the wash and the desert. The entrance to the site is shaped by the Alameda of Palos Verdes. This creates the aperture to the site, and at sunset the site becomes a distiller of the light. The mountains are now with purple in color. The landscape is an opera of colors.”

“From that observation of the site, my principle was to develop an entrance procession that would let me dwell within the horizon of the Alameda of the Palos Verdes. Because of that the name of the project is ‘Atalaya,’ which means crow’s nest. It is the highest point from the boat where you can see the horizon across the ocean. I used the existing concrete pad like a plinth that holds this structure and continued the procession with a combination wall-stair. The shelter will be covered with fabric panels that will amplify the colors of the desert.”

Taliesin West also inspired architects and designers who weren’t students there, including Kate Brown, who created the sculptural Etazin Chair specifically for the school. Made of steel, the circular eight-foot lounger features an inner ring that can spin to face any direction the user desires. It’s on permanent installation at the school, placed among the student shelters in the desert.

You can read more about what it was like for students to live and work at Taliesin West, in their own words, at ArchDaily.

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What do you do with an abandoned supermarket that’s no longer needed for its original purpose but still has great bones? In this case, transform it into a celebrated, completely free homeless shelter for 42 full-time residents. “Shelter From the Storm” is more than just a place for unhoused people to lay their heads at night — it’s a thoughtfully designed community that could serve as a model for similar projects around the world.

Designed by Holland Harvey Architects, the London shelter now bears few signs of its former identity. Its spacious open interiors have been converted into cozier, more domestic-feeling spaces. Guests and residents can even enjoy a cheerful on-site café space full of plants.

The original building clearly had plenty of life left in it, and many of its elements are still present, including the brick walls, concrete columns, and visible ductwork. All this gives the space a somewhat industrial feel, albeit one softened by the addition of wood floors, residential-style lighting, and tiled surfaces in pink and white.

The architects explain: “Upon arrival, guests are greeted with an entrance space that is domestic in scale with a smaller private room directly adjacent if needing to compose themselves before entering the shelter. As you move through the shelter, the scale of each space slowly increases, aiding a smooth transition to the open kitchen and dining area.”

“Throughout the project, each detail was carefully considered, ensuring robustness, dignity, and a sense of ownership for the guests. Bedrooms and bathrooms are based upon typical domestic typologies. For example, sinks and mirrors are separate, providing guests with something of their own within a communal space.”

They add: “An essential part of our undertaking was to understand and respond to preconceived ideas around homelessness and the homeless. Our approach to this was to embed the idea of transparency into the scheme. This was achieved through the insertion of new windows and internal openings that allow views in, out, and through the space. Similarly, the dual use of the shelter as a community café aims to open up the shelter to the wider community. By inviting the general public into the shelter, they are simultaneously invited into the debate about how to demystify homelessness.”

Shelter From the Storm has a primary aim of reintegrating its residents back into society, and it shows that with the respectful way in which they’re all treated. The shelter aims to house and support people no matter who they are or where they come from, noting that they “do not shy away from difficult cases that require extra perseverance, understanding, and care.”

The organization works in collaboration with both large corporations and third party institutions to offer work opportunities to residents. Running on donations, they manage to provide all of this care at a cost of less than £20 per guest per night, which is much lower than the amount it typically costs city and state governments to have people living on the streets. If you’re interested in learning more about their compassionate model, check out STFS.org.uk.

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Like the handmade abode of a lonely logger making unconventional use of his harvest, this conceptual home finds shelter in an unexpected place: a stack of cut tree trunks. “Wall of Logs” by Christophe Benichou consists of little more than two inhabitable boxes inserted into a pile of raw materials that have been left almost entirely untouched, other than their careful arrangement.

With the logs secured together and a sloped surface on one end, the house is climbable, mimicking the shape of the hills surrounding it. The interior is compact and modern, offering a spartan shelter from the elements; the two volumes are just barely connected enough to move from one to another.

“The ‘Wall of Logs’ is a concept habitat born during a hike on the Aubrac plateau in central France,” says Benichou. “In these vast expanses where gentle slopes undulate to infinity, a pile of logs blocks the eye. It’s a great wall in the landscape; a rampart, to perforate, to release the sight. Two monumental windows come to dig this mass. Around them are located all the functions of a habitat that came to colonize the wall. A refuge in the logs. Its heart of wood is wrapped in a thin bark of steel, concealing structure, carpentry and furniture, to offer two pure frames in the heart of nature.”

If built, it certainly wouldn’t be the first highly unconventional log-based structure, though it adds to an interesting trend of natural camouflage in forested settings. The design calls to mind a camouflaged remote tiny house by Hans Linberg, which is even more of a curiosity for the fact that it really does just look like a pile of logs when its window shutters are closed. In that case, only some of the logs are whole; most are just the cut ends acting as cladding. The structure is used as a recording studio.

Wall of Logs was designed as a deliberate counterpoint to another recent concept by Benichou called “Sesame.” Where the “Wall of Logs” feels raw, honest, and open, leaving no secrets to uncover, “Sesame” is more of a mystery. Set in a stark desert, the monolithic, minimalist structure has a similar feeling of being a strange home for a solitary nomad, just as uniquely suited to its environment, with cutouts in place of doors and windows.

Benichou explains that for him, “’Sesame’ evokes the ambiguity of a fixed or imminent movement, but also of an uncertain time, between ruin and contemporaneity.”

The architect says he believes in “a descriptive sensorial architecture … enunciating how Man and buildings are situated in their environment, a tell-tale achievement explaining what it stands for and what we are or wish to be. But as an architect for the senses as well, extolling the tangible characteristics of the location in which it is implanted, and moving the viewer as they are disclosed, but also as it fosters its own situations — a new inner emotional wealth. I am all for architecture with a sense and upsetting the senses.”

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Snails and turtles are so lucky, carrying their homes with them everywhere they go. You can recreate the experience with a huge mobile home, but it isn’t quite the same. This rolling Snail Shell System, designed by N55, is more like the smaller shelters borne by snails: light, tiny and infinitely portable. With just enough room inside for one person, the shelter can be rolled just about anywhere.

Walking behind the wheel as it rolls is one way to move it from here to there, but it can also be turned into a small boat for traversing soggy locales. A resident can move it hamster wheel-style by walking inside, or it can be hitched to a vehicle and towed. Several Snail Shells can be networked to form a temporary community, or a single unit can be stashed in a regular parking space. For particularly hairy situations, the tiny dwelling can even be buried in the ground with only the entrance hatch exposed.

Inside, a gear box holds essentials like water containers, plastic bags, a flashlight, alcohol burner and kettle. A second container functions as a toilet when lined with a plastic bag, though presumably one would only want to use this in an emergency. The Snail Shell emergency shelter system is obviously not meant to be a long-term housing solution, but could be invaluable in the event of a natural disaster that forces quick evacuation.

“The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM is a low cost system that enables persons to move around, change their whereabouts and live in various environments. One unit supplies space for one person. It is mobile both on land and water. One person can move it slowly, either by pushing it like a wheel, walking inside it or on top of it On water it can be rowed, moved by a kite or hooked up to a vessel, for example, a ferry. The unit rests on one flat side and can be anchored in lakes, rivers, harbours or at sea. On land, it can be placed in city spaces, fields, forests etc The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM takes up very little space and can easily be placed in a discreet way. It can be buried in the ground, exposing only the entrance. It can also function as a comfortable space inside existing buildings Several units can meet up and form temporary communities The unit can be hooked up onto existing infrastructure like telecommunication lines and electricity cables (for example, by connecting it to street lamps). “

“If special devices are added, the unit can supply its own energy The SNAIL SHELL SYSTEM can also be used for transporting different items and it can provide protection for persons when they participate in situations like demonstrations.”

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It is more like an oversized IKEA process than a do-it-yourself house project, able to be assembled in a short period of time with just a few workers using simple instructions and correspondingly uncomplicated tools to execute its surprisingly elegant plan.

Designed by Finnish students from the Alto Wood Program, this emergency shelter does their regional material of choice (wood) and their program’s namesake (Alvar Alto) proud, with a practical but comfortable and dynamic interior.

Meanwhile, setting it up is a cinch – modular plywood panels, prefabricated and shipped to site, attach via wooden dowels and nylon straps that (remarkably) negate any need for metal fasteners or electric tools and actually form an airtight seal at joints.

A space-saving galley kitchen attaches to a mixed-use dining, living and working area, while spare lofts above semi-private bedrooms double as storage or extra sleeping spaces. The roof also extends to shelter a limited zone of exterior square footage as well.

After five years of transitional occupancy, its recyclable materials can be scrapped and reused entirely, re-purposed as a whole or form the basis for expansions and additions into a longer-term residence.

Finally, despite its built-in half life, this is no temporary shelter in any traditional sense – it was run structural tests to make sure this model home will hold up in everything from heavy winds and severe storms to earthquakes (essential in certain post-disaster scenarios).

“The Aalto University Wood Program is a one year intensive program on wood and wooden architecture based in Espoo, Finland.”

“The focus of the program is the 1:1 scale design-build project – this years, a transitional refugee shelter to be deployed in a cold climate.  As the amount of people living in emergency situations around the world increases, the students of the Wood Program are committed to making a difference in their lives through good design.  A design competition was held in the fall semester, after which the entire program worked together with a team of engineering students to develop and complete the shelter.”

“The shelter will be exhibited at the beginning of May in Fiskars and from May 28-29 at the World Village Festival in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki.”

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The obvious homeless are those in tent cities on streets and next to freeways. To many residents, these cities are unsightly, prompting them to oppose any settlement plan that threatens to get too close to their backyards. Even though a majority of residents agree that homelessness is a big problem in the Los Angeles area and have even voted for public policy that allocates hundreds of millions of tax dollars to help the situation, the compassion of some quickly turns into resistance once their own neighborhoods are selected as possible settlements.

There is evidence that suggests this resistance is about much more than just aesthetics, but if appearance is in any way standing in the way of giving people hope, then ensuring that good design is used to elevate the dignity of future shelters is imperative. This is especially true of temporary shelters, (also known as bridge housing), which are needed to protect the homeless population while more permanent solutions are constructed.

There is also another group to consider when discussing this issue: the unseen masses who either live in their cars or apartment hop between sympathetic and discrete friends. These people could never be singled out as being homeless, but their lack of a stable address does put them in that category. For all you know, this could even be the case for someone you work with. This should at least evoke more compassion among the permanently housed public. Yet, the temporarily housed and the flat-out unhoused continue to be treated like lepers who just ruin neighborhoods and decrease property values.

In July of 2018, when the Urban Land Institute’s Los Angeles District Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti tasked six architecture firms with designing shelters that all residents could support, they wanted proposals that felt less isolated and utilitarian and more hopeful and communal. Instead of treating people like livestock, these shelters would treat people like human beings. Additionally, each proposal had to have amenities like outdoor common areas, food trucks that offered healthy options, and social services for those with mental health and substance abuse issues. The firms were paired off to create three total teams, each of which respectively designed a modular prototype shelter for 50, 100, and 150-plus users.

The proposal with the smallest footprint is JFAK Architects and RELM Studio’s design for a 50-bed shelter. The sleeping areas in it would be housed in larger buildings, leaving the majority of the actual site for lush groves with seating areas, mini courtyards, and a small welcome center.

The 100-plus bed proposal by SWA and Studio One Eleven offered housing options for both families and individuals. Community gardens, dog parks, restroom facilities, a central courtyard, tree-lined pathways, and public art are used to help the homeless community see the shelter as an actual sanctuary.

DLR Group and EPT Design‘s 150-bed proposal boasts an allure comparable to that of a modest resort. Accessible from the street via an entryway lined with garden areas, residents are welcomed and briefed at an administrative pavilion before being directed to their living quarters. Play areas for kids, recreational spaces for adults, dog parks, benches in communal spaces, grass, and trees make the shelter feel that much more like home.

Fortunately for Los Angeles’ homeless population, 15 of these community-based shelters will soon be built all over the county, each one a bridge to a hopeful, less nomadic existence. Unfortunately, far too many residents seem to be demanding gratitude as a kind of consolation prize in exchange for their embracing of these shelters. Proclaiming that “the homeless should be grateful” still shows a lack of human decency, which can only come from graciously lending a hand and making the disenfranchised feel like society actually cares about them.

The post Why We Should Support LA’s New Community-Based Homeless Shelters first appeared on Dornob.

Dambo explains, “As humans we often have a way of choosing the beaten path and the main roads. So when the municipalities of west Copenhagan contacted me about a project it seemed natural to make something which could get people out and explore the beautiful nature in hidden outskirts which you wouldn’t usually see.”

Whether he’s designing furniture, interior spaces, or huge art installations, Dambo likes to integrate the people and places around him into all of his work. Since 2013, he’s made 25 recycled sculptures that have been placed around the world. His ”Six Forgotten Giants” were completed last year, and they have since been positioned next to boulders with poetry inscribed on them. By using these snippets (and a map) as clues, travelers can successfully make their way from one “forgotten” giant to the next. With the help of local volunteers, Dambo made these sculptures out of old floorboards, over 600 wooden pallets, a fence, a watermill, and “whatever else [they were] able to scavenge.” As a token of gratitude to his helpers, Dambo has named each giant after a different volunteer.

In Hakkemosen, on the shore of a picturesque lake in Høje Taastrup, ”Teddy Friendly” forms a small bridge with his outstretched arm while sitting on the opposite side of a narrow stream. Four unemployed people, and a teacher from a local activation center named Teddy,volunteered to help build this giant, whose fur was made from the cutoffs of locally felled trees.

”Sleeping Louis” was put in a part of Rødovre that had previously attracted a lot of homeless people — food waste, pieces of trash, and old sleeping bags were found scattered across the site. In an effort to alleviate this problem, Dambo hollowed this giant out to allow people to sleep inside of him. The real-life Louis is none other than the artist’s personal assistant, who hails from Bristol.

”Little Tilde” peeks out from behind a tree in Vallensbaek Mose, an area prone to extremely cold weather. Inside Tilde are 28 birdhouses, which were inserted into the giant for birds and squirrels to take shelter in during the winter. Even an 86-year-old craftsman offered to lend a hand in Tilde’s construction!

In Ishøj, you’ll find ”Oscar Under The Bridge,” a giant whose fingers clutch the bridge running over his hideout. He’s made from the scraps of an old watermill and takes his name from the Chilean artist who helped build him.

Elsewhere, two other sculptures provide the perfect vantage points for viewing their surrounding nature. ”Thomas On The Mountain” reclines on a small hillside to look out over Albertslund. While you might think this piece is referencing Dambo himself, it was actually named after an intern who worked on all six Forgotten Giants. In Hvidovre, ”Hill Top Trine” reclines as she overlooks the grazing sheep and picturesque meadows of Avedøresletten.

Ultimately, Dambo ”[hopes his] art will inspire people to see the big potential in recycling and taking better care of our planet.”

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Situated in the phantasmagorical landscape of the Italian Alps, this pine cone-shaped treehouse was designed to allow its occupants to lay out, gaze up at the enchanting night sky, and indulge in some panoramic views of the nearby mountains. Available as a holiday rental for nature lovers and escapists alike, the structure is located in the town of Ugovizza in the Dolomites.

Design Concept

Scattered all over the coniferous forests of Tarvisio — the same place where chief designer Claudio Beltrame’s studio resides — woody pine cones served as the main inspiration for the treehouse’s silhouette. Beltrame was inspired to begin the project in response to the rapid growth of, and his personal interest in, ecotourism. In keeping with that theme, he wanted to create the structure as a mimesis of its surroundings, encapsulating the pine cone’s natural elements and immersing occupants in some magical and unorthodox surroundings all at once.

Another inspiration for the pine cone concept was Philosopher Michael Foucault’s theories of “heterotopias,” or spaces that operate and exist outside the boundaries of society’s control.

“Shelter in a tree has always been the best place to dream, [they’re] man’s primitive place and a place of liberty and reflection.” — Claudio Beltrame

Suspended 10 meters above the ground and supported by surrounding fir trees, the structure is accessible via a wooden bridge. To replicate the pine cone’s scales, the home’s larch shingle cladding was cut into overlapping pieces, and its cross-laminated timber frame was molded into boomerang-like shapes before being insulated with breathable wood fiber.

The overall objective behind the aesthetic was to help the users feel more connected to nature, hence the building’s 360-degree windows, which are situated on the ground floor and provide picturesque views of the snowy, mountainous landscape outside.

Who Created It?

Claudio Beltrame is the Italian architect who produced the pine cone home in creative collaboration with DomusGaia, an Italian company that specializes in the production of prefabricated wooden homes. All the wood was sourced from the Alpe-Adria area, soon to be the world’s first organically-farmed bioregion.

Features

The structure houses three levels. The second floor boasts large windows with sliding shutters in a covered balcony area, which provides increased shelter and privacy. Inside the pine cone home is a seating area, kitchen, and bathroom. On the third floor, you’ll find a double bedroom and a skylight in the ceiling.

What Is Ecotourism?

Sitting 1,200 meters above sea level in a UNESCO World Heritage site, this holiday let is just one of many treehouses sprouting up all over the world in a bid to advance the industry of ecotourism. Ecotourism is tourism that is directed towards the natural world, encompassing the conservation of communities and rural environments, sustainability, and ethical construction. Essentially, it ensures that locals and their resources are healthily-maintained and either unaffected or enhanced by new waves of tourism.

It aims to minimize the social, physical, psychological, and behavioral impacts on the environment — placing emphasis on traveler responsibility and helping to shape the future of our planet by teaching compassionate travel.

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ShelterBox tailors its response to every kind of emergency, providing aid that helps families rebuild both their homes and their lives. While the immediate need for shelter, food, and clean water is obviously foremost in any response, the organization stresses that “[it knows] that a home is much more than bricks and mortar or tarpaulin and tent pegs: [its] kits and boxes contain the items that help transform shelter into a home.” This level of investment in the future is empowering, and it gives people hope that they’ll be able to rebuild and recover after a disaster.

“Our sturdy green ShelterBoxes are designed to help people who have lost everything,” the team says. “They are filled with practical tools and utensils that help to create the framework for everyday life. Each contains a family-sized tent that protects people from the elements and provides a safe space in which people can start to recover from physical and emotional trauma.”

Beyond that, the contents differ depending on the type of disaster involved. The local climate is also a factor. In regions that have lost power, you might expect to find solar flashlights in the ShelterBox. Elsewhere, you might find things like water storage and purification equipment, thermal blankets to prevent exposure to cold weather, and cooking utensils so families can start setting up their homes again.

The ShelterBox solar lights can last up to 16 hours on a single charge. They’re also lightweight and capable of floating in water, making them useful in a number of emergency situations. When the immediate danger has passed, it’s important for families to settle back into a daily routine, and they can use these solar lights when they’re cooking meals or when their children want to read and catch up on schoolwork.

The company even offers another option to ensure that education is restored as quickly as possible: the SchoolBox. ShelterBox stuffs these crates with all the supplies a teacher could need to deliver effective lessons. There’s also a wind-up radio in the SchoolBox, so teachers can tune in to educational programs even when there’s no electricity. Use the kit’s chalk and paint to transform flat surfaces into impromptu blackboards.

“Individual activity packs mean that children have something of their own and the resources to express their feelings — at a time when their whole world has been turned upside down,” the ShelterBox designers explain.

The organization also ships out ShelterKits. These packages include tool kits, ropes, fixings, and heavy-duty tarpaulins for constructing emergency shelters, repairing damaged buildings, and laying the foundations for new homes.

“We customize these kits to suit the location and the needs of each community,” says the ShelterBox team. “Sometimes they include corrugated iron to help make resilient roofing, or even room dividers and mattresses to make warehouses habitable — whatever it takes to help people recover from disaster.”

ShelterBox says its kits and boxes are constantly being evaluated based on feedback from the families who use them. “This fuels us to be innovative and to continue evolving.”

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