A team of New York architects has designed a vinyl, octagonal structure they hope to set up in Haiti to help those left without housing after the January 12th earthquake. The 166 square foot structures are designed to withstand wind, hurricanes and earthquakes, and can be mass produced for about $3,000 each. HaitiSOFTHOUSE project manager Rodney Leon said, "There are people who are in these vulnerable conditions every day that can't live in those situations very long without getting sick. So we wanted to find something that was somewhere between a tent and a permanent house."
Designed to last up to five years, each unit can be assembled in a day and moved by hand since they only weigh 400 pounds. The structures are just one of many proposed solutions to the current housing crisis, but United Nations' envoy to the Haitian reconstruction committee, Edmond Mulet, said something needs to be set up quickly. "The longer that the victims continue living in precarious conditions, the more they will have reason to be discontent. That discontent can be manipulated for political ends."
