Architects for Society creates Hex House, a more “dignified emergency shelter”

2017-12-27T15:45:00-05:00

Sallam noted that the average stay in a refugee camp is 17 years, and many displaced people live in makeshift dwellings such as airplane hangars. They may have shelter, but it’s not “shelter with dignity,” Design elements [of the Hex House] include 12-foot ceilings, which give the impression of roominess within the cozy space. Designed to function “off the grid,” [it] also has solar panels, and it’s raised slightly to protect against flooding and to provide some passive cooling, Sallam said.

The Minneapolis-based Architects for Society, a small non-profit group of mid-career architects from around the world, designed the Hex House to find better solutions for providing deployable emergency shelter for people displaced by natural or manmade disasters. The 500-square-foot Hex House is a hexagon-shaped dwelling that includes two bedrooms, a bathroom, a porch, a kitchen, and common areas. So far, Architects for Society has built two prototypes. Although they're still fine-tuning the design, they hope to eventually work with organizations like FEMA to implement their concept.

The Commons: One-to-One #25 with Amro Sallam of Architects for Society

2016-05-31T13:22:00-04:00

Amro Sallam helped start Architects for Society in 2015, gathering together a collective of international architects to focus their work on humanitarian and social-welfare projects. One of their first projects, Hex House, is a solar-powered, single-family unit designed for deployment in refugee camps and other displaced communities. Sallam shared with me the firm’s origin story, their mindset towards architecture’s involvement in humanitarian efforts, and his thoughts on Aravena's Biennale.

Listen to One-to-One #25 with Amro Sallam:

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Architects for Society creates Hex House, a more “dignified emergency shelter”

The Commons: One-to-One #25 with Amro Sallam of Architects for Society