Uber Shelter is an amazing concept for a portable housing unit that would help people in meeting their immediate shelter requirements created by disastrous events.

This great concept is designed by Rafael Smith. This shelter can be very quickly transported and reassembled with just few necessary tools and offer victims with individual living space. The best thing about Uber shelter is that it is made from recyclable and reusable materials. Around two to three personal rooms can be created in this shelter. I believe these types of concepts are very useful for unpredictable disasters.

Text from designer: ?My goal is to create more than an emergency shelter. This project is a shelter solution that meets the needs of emergency response but also provides victims with a more personal place to live; a base unit that can serve as a very basic shelter but also have the capabilities to upgrade and implement modern infrastructure.

This shelter is also stackable. Many alternative housing solutions deal with small scale but can’t cope with large scale displaced populations. There are 5 points that have been the focus during the design of this shelter. The shelter must be:

1. Easily transportable, collapsible and able to be shipped flat.?
2. Built of recyclable materials and have the ability to be reused.?
3. Easy to erect and assembled with few or no tools.?
4. Amenable to infrastructure?can be used as a basic structure, but have the capabilities to upgrade and implement modern conveniences.?
5. Stackable

Über is shipped flat to allow for transport via air sea and land. All components that create the modular living unit are stored inside the shelter in its collapsed position during transport. It is then taken apart and assembled on location. When it is no longer needed, it can be dismantled, packed flat again, and moved to the next disaster area. The aim has been to design a shelter that is compatible with the current system used in refugee camps and emergencies by organizations such as the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees).

Every camp is different since every situation is different. In some cases proper design of a camp is not possible because refugees have already settled on a site. Uber has been designed to adapt to different situations, terrains, and climates. Camp needs are addressed in phases. Phase one is to meet the basic needs of the people, providing them with the bare essentials.

When the camp is ready for phase two, a separate upgrade package is shipped and added into the shelters units to provide conveniences (electricity for light, compact stove and refrigerator).

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By Christina Nellemann

A few years ago I was given the chance to visit the Third Street Cottages on Whidbey Island and the opening of the Greenwood Avenue Cottages in Seattle. These communities, by renowned architect Ross Chapin and developer Jim Soules, have become famous for being small, sustainable and community oriented. Chapin calls them pocket neighborhoods.

I think my first exposure to small and tiny houses was Chapin’s Third Street Cottages, which were featured in Sarah Susanka’s book, Creating the Not So Big House. They were so well designed and so space efficient and sufficient that it has not occurred to me since that I would need anything bigger. The Third Street Cottages are about 600-650 square feet and have a great room with living, cooking and dining areas, a downstairs bathroom with laundry facilities and a downstairs bedroom. Each house also has a full size loft that is accessed by a ship’s ladder. The owners personalize each cottage by naming their homes. I visited a cottage in the Third Street community named Plum Corner for the plum trees that were left behind during construction.

The typical cottage community by Chapin includes 8 cottages on a 2/3 acre plot that usually  holds one or two larger homes. The cottages surround a “green” area that holds seating, grass and trees and a place to grow community vegetables. A parking lot is off to the side of each community, hidden from view by a fence or bushes. Each cottage has its own small garden area surrounded by a low fence and each community has a shared tool shed and meeting room. Each small house is sold as a condominium and a monthly fee helps to maintain the garden and outlying areas.

To create a balance between the public and private areas, Chapin uses the concept of “layering”. The entryway into the main garden is the first layer, moving from public to more private. Anyone who does not belong in this area is noticed right away from each of the cottages. This way, neighbors can keep an eye on each other’s homes. The layering concept continues with the main garden area leading into the more private cottage gardens through the small fences and then each house is entered by first going up several stairs to the open front porches. The porches bring to mind the charming bungalows of the Arts & Crafts movement of the early 1900’s. The porches extend the living area of the small homes as well as offering a convenient area for neighborly chats.

I was able to view the Greenwood Avenue cottages during an open house tour and I was impressed by how the little details in the homes gave them each a different personality. Each tiny home uses architectural tricks to create a larger space: built-in bookshelves, alcoves, delineated ceiling heights between living and eating areas, ample windows and skylights. Each home is personalized with special details such as trim, woodwork (the walls of the Third Street Cottages are paneled in reclaimed spruce saved from destruction by a piano company) and cubby areas holding shelves, window seats or dining nooks.

Chapin believes in not only designing and building to save space and money, but to promote sustainability. The low garden fences are recycled fencing, the cottage’s siding is cement fiber board rather than wood, and the garden pathways were laid with crushed hazelnut shells from a local nut company.

Ross Chapin Architects also sell cottage home and small home plans. The three smallest are the Blue Sky Cabin at 307 square ft. the Backyard Cottage at 449 square ft. and the Lizzie Cottage at 540 square ft.

The Cottage Company

Living small — Some Utahns discovering the charm of cottages

Cottage Housing in Your Community (PDF)
A guide to drafting a cottage housing ordinance

Tiny House Village Concept post on Tiny House Design

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We discussed Brian Liloia cob cottage in an earlier post and I wanted to give you an update on his progress. Brian has started the roofing of his cob home as you can see by the picture above.

Brian was recently interviewed about building his cob house at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. He was interviewed by Tom Tucker of Greenblogosphere.com. He discusses his experience building the house, the benefits and history of cob, and why he chose cob over other materials. They also talk a bit about life at the Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage.

Brian is hoping that this audio interview will help shed more light on what it is like to build with cob and others will be encouraged to give it a try as well. 
I have posted the audio below and attached some photos of the process so far. You can visit Brian’s “The Year of Mud: Building a cob house” blog to learn more as well.

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