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DH1 Disaster House is a puzzling, yet pricey, alternative to homelessness
Developed by California architect Gregg Fleishman comes the DH1 Disaster House, a shed that can be put up in an afternoon. It’s a deceptively simple idea. Create a house that one doesn’t need a single nail to build. That’s because the home was designed with tabs that make it more a 3D puzzle to put together.
Initially designed to aid hurricane victims who have lost their homes, this alternative is designed to be a 14′ square shed built about 30″ off the ground. All one needs to do is unpack the stack of European birch plywood, put them together via the slots, and in about an hour, you have an instant place to hang your hat – porch included.
For the three room model, the house comes pre-cut into 276 panels of 28 different types providing 370 square feet in three rooms, two 9′ cubes and a 15′ wide beveled module.
The house would come in handy, however, it’s drawback is that it isn’t very waterproof and insulation is not included in the $22,000 sticker price, and hurricanes tend to be a tad on the wet side. So plastic tarps or a few of canopies would be an important accessory to keep out the rain.
Still, if the idea catches on and the cost drops due to similar yet competitive alternatives, the DH1 Disaster House may not only help those in dire need of a place to stay, but could become the next popular thing in home improvement. I know it would be fun to put one up in my back yard, and I could use an office.
Join 10 Comments
mal Says: June 28, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Nifty, But why not just keep it simple with just six peices? Seriously someone is going to lose one a side or not beable to put it together because it’s a puzzle! lol.
Not waterproof? or insulated? I guess i’ll just go buy a tent or a trailer for $22,000
Helgi Says: June 29, 2007 at 4:52 am
Good idea but pricey
I can see where the designer is coming from. This is obviously aimed at authorities who can store the product flat at strategic warehouses (Obviously you want a stockpile in preparation instead of ringing the manufacture the day after a disaster to order a couple of hundred thousand units to be delivered that afternoon lol) that can then be shipped and erected quickly (I don’t know about you but after the tenth one I think I wouldn’t need to look at the assembly instructions (that’s of course if this follows the normal course of having instructions translated into Taiwanese and then back to English) and you don’t have the problem of those missing bolts, hinges and screws or what to do with the inevitable extras that you are forced to use in place of the correct size that were missing).
Tents have the problem of being insecure (you don’t need a lock pick just a sharp knife to get into one) and pitched on already wet ground. Trailers would be nice (already fitted with beds and cooking facilities) but then where do you store something with a much larger unit size until needed and what do you do with them afterwards?
It’s a pity the design doesn’t tackle insulation and waterproofing but otherwise pretty good modular design that allows quick repairs by swapping out a broken panel.
Mark Says: June 29, 2007 at 4:54 am
And to think….cardboard boxes used to be good enough. We have become much more affluential nowadays, haven’t we?
javed Says: July 3, 2007 at 12:20 am
Is there an alternate material that can be used to build this DH1 house. As wood is not as cheap elsewhere!
Will appreciate comments on javedhasankhan@parco.com.pk
Tony Says: July 10, 2007 at 11:26 am
Why not use foam core marine ply-wood, you’d get the waterproofing and insulation in one.
George Says: July 10, 2007 at 7:45 pm
i can build a 500 sqft, typhoon proof home with bolt together bits for same price
Disaster designing … solutions are hitech, yet cost prohibitive » Coolest Gadgets Says: October 23, 2007 at 10:51 pm
[...] seem all that far-fetched. In fact, its down-right practical. We’ve seen it before, such as this puzzle like design idea which we reported on earlier, and disposable, festival style concept made of cardboard that [...]
Matt Says: February 1, 2009 at 2:41 pm
This is retarded.
Patio Heaters Store Says: September 24, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I like the idea of how quickly it goes up but the fact that it’s not waterproof seems like a bit of a flaw. I guess tarps would work but for how long?
nick Says: June 28, 2007 at 12:26 pm
hehe, I was never good at jigsaws