WY-TO with POD Structures, Living Shelter. Sustainable technical elements provide autonomy to the shelter. Installation view at Palazzo Mora, 2016.

The 15th International Architecture Exhibition theme – Reporting From the Front – is definitely relevant regarding the current situation around the world. War, natural disaster, flow of migrants, rapid urbanisation, and poverty: it is time to take action! There is an urgency to support the populations in need and think differently about housing and shelter.
Asia and the Pacific are the most disaster-prone regions in the world. Living shelter is an alternative solution which combines innovation in Design and Technology addressed to the particular Southeast Asian climate and community lifestyle.
This affordable capsule is easy to deliver to devastated sites for the people to start living again from scratch. This inhabitable unit is collapsible in order to be easily shipped and assembled in any kind of tropical environment. Thought as a module, different configurations offer flexibility and diversity regarding the use and the activities of the community.
Moreover, the engineering system provides the best solutions for sturdiness and adaptability to hot and humid weather conditions. Everything is incorporated to last for a substantial amount of time: from emergency to transitional shelter. Furthermore, the ingenuity of the system is that all components can be easily dismantled and reused separately in an entire new building on a more durable term.
Transportation, assembly method, energy resources, and integrated features – Living Shelter offers a smart type of housing.
Beside an impactful presentation of the Southeast Asian needs, the scale 1:1 prototype exhibited during La Biennale di Venezia invites visitors to experiment with the capsule and its design solutions.
It will also convey that Living Shelter is a comfortable, safe, and durable shelter: a relevant response to the current situation.
This affordable project aims to bring Architectural and Engineering qualities to the people who have suffered from disasters and acts for them.
Living Shelter is a co-creation between WY-TO, creative multi-disciplinary Architectural Design studio based in Singapore and Paris and POD Structures, a building design Engineering specialist and innovation studio based in Singapore.