Presenting Team Member:
Anu Adeyemo – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Danika Ratnapradipa – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
Julia Ehlers – Undergraduate in Architectural Engineering
School: University of Nebraska
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: The Fleet: Tiny Houses Repurposed in the Wake of Disaster
Solution: We propose a creation called the Fleet: a collection of old school buses and ambulances upcycled into reusable, sustainable, mobile disaster relief shelters. When a natural disaster strikes a community, a number of these tiny homes would head to the site affected from the nearest distribution centers around the country and would stay there until the necessary infrastructure and housing had been repaired or rebuilt. This solution uses materials that otherwise would have been wasted in junkyards across the country – materials that are meant to last far longer than they’re given credit for. The Fleet provides a catch-all safety blanket that can be used in all sorts of disasters for an extended period of time, making it an ideal replacement for current disaster shelters.