Insulated Membrane Kit for Emergency Shelters: Product Development and Evaluation of Three Different Concepts

The paper deals with the development of a novel winterized textile partition to accommodate refugees during a humanitarian crisis. The research has been developed within S(P)EEDKITS, a four year research project (March 2012 - February 2016) in which research institutes, universities, companies operating in the emergency sector and non-profit organizations have rethought shelters, medical care resources and other facilities provided in case of natural disaster and conflicts. The S(P)EEDKITS project aimed to scrutinize materials and equipment of the Emergency Response Units (ERUs) that are currently used by humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and to develop novel solutions which drastically reduce their deployment time, the volume and weight for transportation. Solutions needed to be clever and durable enough so that the affected population can use them also during the reconstruction phase. This dual approach - speed and seed - was crucial as the recent trend in emergency aid for organizations is not only to stimulate as early as possible the self-repair, but also to support the transitional period and the reconstruction. Starting from a detailed analysis of the state of the art, the research group of Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) worked on the design of innovative shelter solutions and their packages, in order to add values in terms of ease of transport and set up. Through the multidisciplinary approach that involved several partners of the collaborative project, a list of metrics scored three diverse shelter concepts; one of them was prototyped in ten units and tested by Senegal and Luxembourg Red Cross delegations. Insulated Membrane Kit for Emergency Shelters: Product Development and Evaluation of Three Different Concepts. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/307475459_Insulated_Membrane_Kit_for_Emergency_Shelters_Product_Development_and_Evaluation_of_Three_Different_Concepts [accessed Apr 19, 2017].