Carlo Ratti Associati has completed and installed the first unit of CURA in Turin, Northern Italy. Previously reported on Archinect, we reported on the project, which stands for "Connected Unites for Respiratory Ailments" was spearheaded by Carlo Ratti Associati and Italian architect Italo Rota. The concept utilized shipping containers to develop a modular system of pods for treating COVID-19 patients. Met with confusion, some were uncertain of the feasibility of the proposal, but now the first steps have become a reality.

The plug-in Intensive-Care Pods converted from shipping containers have come to fruition in just four weeks following their initial launch. The speed of the design and production effort come as a result of an international task force that, in addition to designers from Carlo Ratti Associati with Italo Rato, include engineers at Jacobs and health technology company Philips for medical equipment supply.

With the goal to improve the efficiency of existing design solutions for field hospitals, CURA aims to meet the growing need of compact ICU pods that are quick-to-deploy and to to work in. Each unit sits within a 20-foot intermodal container that has been repurposed with biocontainment equipment. An extractor creates indoor negative pressure to comply with industry isolation room standards. Windows allow patients to be monitored from outside the pod and allow for the potential to have visitors see patients.

Moreover, each pod works independently from the others and can be shipped to any location in the world, making it a dynamic tool that can adapt to changing global healthcare developments.