AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Home
GOALS
Sustainable Cities & Communities, Refugees and Migrants
KEYWORDS
temporary shelters, Refugee Camps, floor
COUNTRY
United States of America
DESIGNED BY
Good Works Studio
WEBSITE
http://emergencyfloor.com/
Emergency Floors - for refugees
The design is an innovative low-cost, high-impact product designed to install in any refugee shelter
Refugee families live in shelters for 12-17 years on average. This is by no means a temporary living situation, but that's how it's treated. Good Works Studio seeks to harness the power of good design and the economies of scale of mass production to introduce life-saving, dignity-bearing goods that have significant and measurable impact.
The Emergency Floor re-purposes shipping pallets, one of the most common materials to be found in temporary camps for refugees, to solve one aspect often overlooked by other shelter solutions: how to ensure people do not have to sleep directly on the ground, exposed not only to the coldness of the soil (in harsh climates), but also to parasitic infections and other diseases that can easily spread if there's no insulation.
Last year, 38 million refugees fleeing conflict and natural disasters were forced from their homes and hosted in temporary camps where tent-like shelters provide little to no barrier between their families and the soil below.