fyi<br><br>
<a name="13128a1ad7b04799_group_thread_2"></a>
<div style="background-color: rgb(232, 238, 247); font-family: helvetica; font-size: 140%; border-top: 1px solid rgb(119, 153, 221); padding: 2px;"> Topic: <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/openmanufacturing/t/a1d0afa979293621" target="_blank">More Tube Hotels</a></div>
<span style="font-weight: bold;">Eric Hunting <<a href="mailto:erichunting@gmail.com" target="_blank">erichunting@gmail.com</a>></span>
Jul 13 01:33PM -0600
<a href="?ui=2&view=bsp&ver=ohhl4rw8mbn4#13128a1ad7b04799_digest_top">^</a><br>
<br>
Some here may remember the Dasparkhotel in Germany that cleverly
converted precast concrete tubes into little minimalist cabins.<br>
<br><a href="http://www.dasparkhotel.net/" target="_blank">http://www.dasparkhotel.net/</a><br>
<br>
Now a hotel in Mexico has copied this idea with a few nice alterations. <br>
<br><a href="http://www.tubohotel.com/welcome/" target="_blank">http://www.tubohotel.com/welcome/</a><br>
<br>
This brings to mind the Snail Shell system of N55;<br>
<br><a href="http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSS.html" target="_blank">http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSS.html</a><br>
<br>
And an experiment done some years ago by Australian Antarctic
researchers in adapting rotomolded HDPE tanks into polar shelters by
adding a door and a formed-in layer of PE foam; <br>
<br><a href="http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/larger-shelters/tank-huts" target="_blank">http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/field-operations/tents-shelters-and-huts/larger-shelters/tank-huts</a><br>
<br>
The Snail Shell was pretty cool but a bit too small for anything but a
fun experiment. It lacked any insulation and the tiny manway was
difficult for most people. Still this picture (<a href="http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSSquintus.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.n55.dk/MANUALS/SNAIL_SHELL_SYSTEM/SSSquintus.jpg</a>)
was worth that whole project. <br>
<br>
The tank huts were much larger and much more sophisticated and insulated
well enough to withstand Antarctica. But, while much easier than a lot
of shelters used there, they were still rather unwieldy without some
lifting equipment and a little too hermetic, leading to condensation and
ventilation issues. <br>
<br>
Suppose you rotomolded a tube with integral insulation as the tank huts
used but more like these hotel cabins in form, with integral mounts for
bed/floor decks and other fixtures inside, a recess to mount door/window
frames of wood or aluminum like the Mexican hotel cabins, and on the
outside some wheel ridges and recesses for plastic chock-blocks and
tie-downs. I'd make them a little bit longer than the 8' or 2.5m long
hotel cabins to provide a larger front standing space -maybe 3m. <br>
<br>
In a relief context, these would be pretty versatile. You would be able
to pack a tough quick-deployed highly insulated, extremely
weather-resistant shelter into a rolling and stackable package made of
mostly recycled materials using a simple mass production fabrication
process. You could install integral LED lighting and shelving and pack
flex cell solar power, supplies, and other deployable gear in the open
volume and under the bed deck. With both ends framed, you get cross-flow
ventilation with openable screens and windows and quick mounting of
heat pumps or mini-stoves. They would be very easy to transport because
they are lighter and smaller than ISO containers, could float, be
dropped by air (maybe even parachute), and could be dragged by people or
trucks using a rick-shaw-like frame (remember the draggable water
containers?), and could be deployed in side-by-side stacks. The design
could also incorporate accordion fold laminate paper shades on the ends
and arch, dome, or cone
shaped shade roof units to group clusters or rows. The tubes could also
be specially made for certain uses, like toilets, showers, dry storage
or water storage tanks, kiosks, kitchens, and centralized
power/communications units. For instance, turning a unit vertical,
adding a portal, and partitioning the upper 1/3 of the height would make
a nice simple solar shower, the upper section serving as a tank with a
heat absorbing lid. Or a larger public shower installation could use a
stack of three units, with the upper unit as water tank and the two
lower ones as walk-through shower rooms with shower hear rows along the
top. After the initial emergency situation, these structures could be
endlessly re-purposed or recycled whole to make other products locally. <br>
<br>
In the non-relief context, I think these would also make for economical
vacation cabins suited to winter climates, homeless shelters, capsule
hotels at airports, worker housing, storage and work sheds, guest rooms,
garden pavilions, yoga huts, farm animal shelters, kids play-houses
(personal space capsule?), kiosks, giant composters, marina float
modules, and telecom vaults. While the basic shelters would use the
tubular profile to let them roll for transportability, the profile need
not be round for other applications. For instance, it could have a box,
hex, octagon, flat bottomed circle, or even the classic pitched roof
house profile and these could be made in short stackable self-sealing
sections for custom lengths and easier handling. So the production
capability could be justified by these many non-relief applications. <br>
<br>
Eric Hunting<br><a href="mailto:erichunting@gmail.com" target="_blank">erichunting@gmail.com</a><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
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