Bachelor thesis by Leyla Minks in summer semester 2023 | Focus on furniture
Homelessness affects people of all ages, genders and backgrounds and manifests itself in many countries as a visible sign of social inequality. Whether on the street or in temporary emergency accommodation, those affected are often exposed to a precarious everyday life and existential insecurity. At the same time, the refugee crisis is forcing millions of people to leave their homes to escape life-threatening dangers. They seek protection and support in foreign countries and often risk their lives to reach safety. The Mobile Shelter project began with in-depth research to understand the scale of the homelessness and refugee crisis, as well as analyzing the current provision of emergency shelter. The next step was to come up with the design idea. The focus was not only on aesthetics and functionality, but also on practical handling, price and acceptance by the target group. The "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This Shelter" was created on this basis. A DIY shelter made from inexpensive and easily obtainable materials with assembly instructions for homeless people and refugees.
I developed this DIY basis into a product for my bachelor's thesis. It was important to me to retain the advantages of the DIY shelter in the product and to achieve a more valuable aesthetic with higher quality materials. This made the "Sweet Dreams are Made of this Shelter" available not only for socially disadvantaged people, but for all target groups who want to spend the night outdoors. When folded up, the shelter becomes a compact folder which, with a weight of 2.1 kg and the elastic nylon strap, is light and comfortable to carry. In addition, with its dimensions of 790 x 1170 mm and a thickness of only 60 mm, the folder is super easy to hide for homeless people, for example, and to stow away in the trunk for other target groups. The folder can be opened with two zippers and thus folds out into a lying surface. The head end of the shelter is attached to the lying surface with Velcro strips and can be removed at any time as required. Lying on the lying surface, you can fold the shelter over you like a "convertible" roof in a matter of seconds without any great effort. The construction is made of PVC plastic tubes (Ø 16 mm), which are formed into four smaller scaling frames. These are screwed together centrally at an offset of 20 mm and covered with black caps to form a hinged joint. The construction is also covered in the same fabric as the tarpaulin. The construction is tensioned with nylon straps, which are slotted in and firmly integrated with loops. The tarpaulin only rests on the frame from above and is sewn to the construction at the bottom using light gray nylon loops. It is made of thermo-coated outdoor fabric (100% polyester). The light gray side of the fabric is on the outside, while the silver, thermo-coated side insulates your own body heat and cold on the inside. The windows are made of transparent TPU fabric, laminated with reflective spy film. This makes the shelter opaque from the outside and offers privacy, while you can see and observe the outside world from the inside. The shelter also offers optimum ventilation thanks to mesh inserts on both front sides. The ventilation flaps can be completely closed and opened, as well as set up for weather-protected ventilation. The cover of the lying surface contains a thermally insulating foam with a foil coating made of a thermoplastic material that protects against moisture and cold from the ground.
The bachelor thesis was supervised by Prof. Karsten Weigel
