Minimalist Shelters for the Homeless/Displaced by Disasters

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We need minimal shelter from rain and wind, using Japanese mini hotel bee hexagon model, made from sturdy plastics, tin roof top over a whole bank of them, stacked two high, multiple access levels.

The hexagon would be roughly 8 feet long, two feet on each side. The material would be extruded recycled plastic, probably about 1/4 inch thick. I am not a materials engineer, but I suspect that this would work. Using a framework of wood to support these off the ground and separating each layer, you could easily go up four to six layers, with access at every two layers. A solid tin roof, 20 by 20, could cover, at six hexagons deep, 3×4, 3×4, 3×4, times entry from both sides for 2nd bank, 21 on a side, 42 sleeping spaces. Simple vinal curtains, recycled sign material from convention signage, would keep the rain out of the openings to the hexapods.

Cost, probably well under $20,000 per structure. It’s not a house, but it does prevent people from freezing to death. Body heat would probably raise interior temps a few degrees. Being dry, you can take a lot more cold. During the day, hexapods can be pressure washed if needed.

To avoid the NIMBY problem, you could put a single bank of these on a semitrailer, and move it from place to place, with portypotty in tow. Daytime airports have lots of flat spaces at night. Having separate trailer banks for men and for women and children would be good. Pets would be possible.

thank-you, Bucky Fuller!

Douglas Keachie