EXO HOUSE

Last week I wrote about the Katrina Cottages, which where used to help address the need for housing after Hurricane Katrina. I then found this designer who talks about how FEMA addressed housing need before these where built. We used camper trailers, according to this article:

102,000 travel trailers and mobile homes that FEMA purchased after Hurricane Katrina. The price tag for the trailers was more than $2.6 billion, according to FEMA. Despite their cost of about $15,000 each

FEMA later sold those trailers for $1-$2, yes, one to two dollars each!  Anyway, this designer thought there had to be a better way and putting aside the fact that FEMA should have thought of this before, here is what he came up with.

The EXO House is a temporary structure used to house refugees and disaster victims quickly for much less than $15k.  I was thinking what could we achieve with these for homeless folks?!?!

ScreenHunter_01 Oct. 25 19.54ScreenHunter_02 Oct. 25 19.55

11 Comments
  1. It's easier to blame FEMA than to look in the mirror and question what the populace expects as a solution. Individual desires have trumped the good of society for many decades (especially since WWII) in the USA and continue to guide what get's built (i.e. the individual "castle" vs co-housing or sprawl vs revitalizing abandoned neighborhoods). There are lots of vacant houses in Buffalo and Detroit and many other places closer to NO that could have been fixed up pretty quick if people had the desire to move and the government had the political will to assist them. If FEMA were to have provided "Reaction units" instead of the more familiar travel trailer, I think they would have been criticized even more as they would have been perceived as "poverty" huts. I don't think the "form" of the shelter really made much difference. It was the lack of preparedness and the perceived failure of the government to cope with the disaster that fueled the debate. Rich

  2. But where would they put the big screen t,v,s they loot?

    • And what is the great, groundbreaking invention you came up with BILL??? They Loot??? Really??? Are you seriously replying with that???

  3. how many square feet is it? looks small for four people, i like the connectors b/twn pods.

    • Its very small, it is really only intended to have a safe to sleep and to lock your belongings in during the day. I would guess around 100 sq/ft at most. The idea is to get these setup while real housing is being established

  4. I think it is a great idea for temporary housing. All the high paid FEMA workers in the game, and a outsider came up with this. It’s energy efficient, space efficient, great for temporary relief, while more suitable housing is found. Great!!!

  5. I think people hesitate because they are thinking in terms of a more permanent living structure, not emergency shelter. Think about all the people on cots in the dome. Instead, people would have had these.

  6. As someone who lost all in Katrina, (home, job, personal belongings) I would say I would have used one of these to escape the 100+ degree heat we had in the following two weeks of the storm. We instead slept in a tent in the front yard of a friends home that had minimal damage. Still, two weeks in that heat and no shower or bath from no running water takes its toll on the body. You begin to develope blisters on your skin and the mental exhaustion is even harder. I am not sure these would work in the long run though because they have no shower. It was amazing to see just how much you learn to DO WITHOUT after loosing everything and living in a small FEMA trailer (that leaked water and had mold, NOT complaining just saying)

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