The world’s first comprehensive online hub for
DIY Shelter Designs &
Step-by-step Instructions
Home for humanity x ETH Zürich
Mission
Our mission is to provide self-help shelter designs for individuals who have been displaced due to conflicts, natural disasters, economic instability, and the effects of climate change.
We offer a range of do-it-yourself shelter solutions that empower people to regain their self-sufficiency and dignity as they endeavor to rebuild their lives worldwide.
problem
There has been a significant increase in the number of people displaced due to natural disasters and conflicts in recent years. Yet, there is no centralized online hub that allows individuals to access DIY shelter designs, download blueprints, and access step-by-step instructional videos.
The conventional international assistance model, which relies on intermediaries or donations, has revealed its limitations when major earthquakes struck or conflicts happen in remote places. Given the scale of destruction witnessed this year in the Middle East, there is a pressing need for a shift in the way we should think about how to help reconstruction and rebuilding.
Architects have developed various shelter designs and constructed them around the world. However, plans, drawings, or construction instructions are not shared. Government and international organization documents tend to be lengthy as they are catered towards aid workers or skilled builders. Mass-produced shelters often prove challenging to replicate using locally available materials. While DIY YouTubers have shown building skills, they do not provide downloadable drawings or comprehensive plans.
With basic technology, can we now offer a complete solution encompassing designs, material lists, plans, and construction guidance for individuals who want to rebuild their lives anywhere in the world?
solution
In collaboration with a team of architecture graduate students and professors from ETH Zurich, as well as nonprofit disaster relief organizations, Fashion Girls for Humanity has undertaken the initiative to establish an online hub called Home for Humanity. This platform is designed to provide easy access for individuals to comprehensive shelter design solutions, including in-depth material specifications and step-by-step instructions.
Our overarching vision extends into the future, where we aspire to create an open environment on the platform. This will enable users to actively participate by sharing alternative designs, innovative concepts, valuable feedback, and also leverage the content for global disaster preparedness and self-resilience education.
Home for Humanity
User Participation
Variations, innovative ideas, content uploaded from builders, architects, and users for continuous improvement
Downloadable digital plans
Architectural designs
Construction plans
Education
Future disaster preparedness and self-resilience education worldwide.
Instructions
Step-by-step instructions
Material information
Searchable or AI based solutions
Best solution generated by various user inputs and resource factors
research
Since June 2023, a team of architecture graduate students, led by Professors Momoyo Kaijima and Laurent Stalder from ETH Zurich, embarked on an extensive examination of over 300 designs and diverse concepts created globally.
These prototypes, solutions, and products are the result of efforts made by architects, governments for individuals affected by natural disasters and refugees enduring demanding conditions.
find your solution
The platform can recommend the most suitable solution by taking into account user-input factors such as budget constraints and material availability.
Design decision tools
DURATION
Short/mid/long term housing
TYPOLOGIES
Topography based designs
MATERIALS & COSTS
Access to materials and types of materials
DISASTER TYPES
Cluster or mass destruction
Migration needs
Government restrictions/regulations
OTHER RESOURCES
Labor availability, skills found locally
MAINTENANCE
Consideration for the cost and availability of maintenance and replacement
user feedback
Users will be encouraged to actively engage in documentation and recording of their experiences, and their feedback is highly valued. Builders are welcome to contribute variations to enhance the platform's offerings and make it more comprehensive. Additionally, suppliers are invited to join and share their resources and availability.
Variation A
Variation B & C
Permanent home model
Case study
USA tiny home /Shelter
Budget $30,000
Location LA
Designed as a homeless shelter
Documented by Kai Dal Bello
Education
High School / College / Seminars
Disaster preparedness
Testing a prototype
Research
Fieldwork
Fieldwork
Site visit
Disaster area
Implementation
Reconstruction
Improvement
Contest and awards
Workshop / lectures / exhibit
Government
Universities
Design conference
Hosting its own exhibit or competition
We plan to foster the education among students and new architects who are conceiving something that is better.
About
Momoyo
Kaijima
Chair of Architectural Behaviorology
Dept. of Architecture
Prof. Momoyo Kaijima
Momoyo Kaijima graduated from the Faculty of Domestic Science at Japan Women’s University in 1991. She founded Atelier Bow-Wow with Yoshiharu Tsukamoto in 1992. In 1994 she received her master degree from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. During 1996-97 she was a guest student at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ). In 2000 she completed her post-graduate program at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She has served at the Art and Design School of the University of Tsukuba from 2000 to 2022. Since 2017 she has been serving as a Professor of Architectural Behaviorology at ETHZ. While engaging in design projects of houses, public buildings and station plazas, etc., she has conducted numerous investigations of the city through architecture such as Made in Tokyo and Pet Architecture. She was the curator of Japan Pavilion at the 16th Venice Architectural Biennale and 2022 She receives Wolf Prize Laureate in Architecture 2022.
About
Laurent Stalder
Chair of the Theory of Architecture
Prof. Dr. Laurent Stalder
Laurent Stalder is Professor for the Theory of Architecture in the Institute for the History & Theory of Architecture (GTA), Department of Architecture (D-ARCH), at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) in Switzerland.
The main focus of his research and publications is the history and theory of architecture from the 19th to the 21st centuries where it intersects with the history of technology.
He studied architecture at the ETH Zurich (1996), undertook a scholarship with the Swiss Institute for Archaeology & Architectural Research in Cairo (1996-97), and obtained his PhD in Architecture from the ETH Zurich (2002).
About
Fashion Girls for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded by fashion industry leaders Julie Gilhart, Kikka Hanazawa, Miki Higasa, and Tomoko Ogura in the wake of the 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster. FGFH has evolved its mission to bring humanitarian services and funds to communities in need through its global network of fashion and design industry professionals.
Credit
Founder
Kikka Hanazawa / Cofounder Fashion Girls for Humanity
Co-curators
Momoyo Kaijima, ETH Zurich
Laurent Stalder, ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich Team & Students
Christoph Danuser, Studio Assistant
Davide Spina
Shelter Design & Build in LA
Kai Dal Bello, Design & Construction
Jose Carrascoza, Construction
Moises Gonzalez, Architect/Engineer
Collaborators
Platform Development & Management
XR Vision
Implementation Partners
Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management
Peace Winds
Advisors
Toyo Ito
Shohei Shigematsu, Partner OMA
Hitoshi Abe, UCLA Chair of Architecture Department
Contact
ADDRESS
Fashion Girls for Humanity
c/o Kaleidoscope Consulting
125 Maiden Ln #14C New York NY 10038 USA
Phone
(212) 414-8882
ADDRESS
Chair of Architectural Behaviorology
Prof. Momoyo Kaijima
Department of Architecture
ETH Zurich
ONA G36, Neunbrunnenstrasse 50
8050 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone
+41(0) 44 633 29 46