Lightweight shelters are often used to house victims of war and natural disasters, but they can be damaged by strong winds. Extremis Technology has created the Hush2, a portable shelter that can stand up to Category 5 winds up to 200 miles per hour.
The Hush2 can be flat-packed for shipment and does not require an expensive and time-consuming concrete foundation. The shelter is 4.3 square meters in area and 2.4 meters high and can be set up in just two hours. It is designed for the transitional period when people move out of tents but before they move into permanent housing.
The shelter is made from marine plywood. Its modular design makes it easy to combine shelters to create larger community buildings. It can be taken down and repurposed after being used for transitional housing.
The Hush2 is set up as a conventional rectangular building with a pitched roof, but it can be converted into a prism shape to resist damage from heavy winds by folding the walls down. The transformation takes just seven minutes.
Extremis Technology believes the Hush2 can restore a sense of dignity for people who have lost their homes due to war or natural disasters and help to rebuild communities. Setting up shelters in smaller hubs can provide residents with support and a sense of ownership to create an empowered and sustainable environment.
Extremis Technology has raised money through angel investors and is raising more through Crowdcube to develop the Hush2 commercially, as well as other technologies for humanitarian relief. The company wants to send Hush2 shelters to Nepal to help people affected by earthquakes and to the Dominican Republic for a first-in-the-field project.