Presenting Team Member:
Parker Vice – Master’s student in Architecture
Gabe Hoggard – Master’s student in Architecture
Zackery Trahan – Master’s student in Architecture
School: University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Challenge: Sustainable and Resilient
Problem Definition: The objective of this challenge is to develop novel technical solutions to improve the resilience and sustainability of the built environment and identify ways for each proposed solution to enable underserved communities to adapt, persist, and recover from extreme weather and persistent stress, such as those caused by climate change.
Project Title: Eau-Tarp
Solution: Our team mission is to serve the communities of manufactured homeowners throughout the Southern Gulf Coast by providing a means to protect their manufactured homes in the event of a hurricane or flooding event. About 5% of the American population reside in manufactured homes with more than half of that 5% being in the southern regions of the United States. Many of these communities are under served both in infrastructure and in their ability to receive aid quickly, causing concern for their health, safety, and welfare.
Eau-Tarp grants manufactured homeowners a sense of security in the onset of a hurricane event, thus helping ease the decision to evacuate out of harm’s way prior to the storm’s coming. The innovation is that it is a relatively simple adaptation of existing products and materials, combining their protective qualities to better shield a manufactured home from harsh storm conditions. It is a 2-part storm “Resiliency-Apparatus” that can be installed before a major storm, protecting a manufactured home from flooding, wind, and flying debris. This resiliency apparatus is designed to be exceptionally durable under most circumstances during weather events. It also acts as a storage tank for clean potable water which is immeasurably valuable following a major storm due to water contamination caused by flooding, and damage to utility systems caused by the storm.