After one of the worst hurricanes to ever land on US shores, developers have created a house that’s aimed at providing a quick solution that can withstand damaged utility grids. New Orleans is the first place to have a prototype that could – as developers believe – be used throughout the world in areas that need help to quickly rebuild after disasters.
The model can be shipped in pieces in a single container and assembled like an erector set. It includes the mount for 22 solar panels and an slanted roof to catch rainwater. The walls are steel-insulated panels and the walls are erected with a system of heavy-duty tracks and supports tested to withstand winds of 156 miles per hour.
Christophor Faust, managing partner of a company called The Regen Group that specializes in green building techniques, said many ideas for the house started after Hurricane Katrina when New Orleans-area builders were working with actor Brad Pitt’s Make It Right rebuilding project.
The group has pitched the house to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and housing authorities in South Africa, Iraq, Brazil, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic and is aiming to obtain a big contract later this year. Faust said, ready-to-go housing containers could be stored at various staging points in case of disasters. He added that mass production would require an order of more than 1,000 units.
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