a minimal and modular hurricane-resistant home wins arch out loud's 'shelter' competition

architectural research initiative arch out loud has teamed up with american home construction company deltec homes to launch the ‘shelter’ competition, challenging participants to design the hurricane resilient home of the future. the organizers have now announced the results, revealing the innovative proposals were selected by the jury members including mark gardner (jaklitsch/gardner), bill hanley (dwell magazine), garett hwang (UN studio), moon hoon (moon hoon), angie lee (FX collaborative), steve linton (deltec homes), georgeen theodore (interboro partners) and lois weinthal (ryerson school of interior design).

‘palmar’ by doel frasse
all images courtesy of arch out loud

among the numerous designers who presented exciting ways to adapt hurricane-resistant shells to coastal living in arch out loud’s shelter competition, doel frasse stood out as the overall excellence award winner with his ‘palmar’ proposal. the project takes shape as a circular modular system, designed for the tropics where the weather is mostly hot and humid. the structure employs a series of hurricane resistant canopies that promote sufficient ventilation and protection from the sun, while also forming a durable exterior. the name of the system derives from the radial floor plan pattern, which reminds of a palm tree seen from above.

‘palmar’ by doel frasse

‘hive’ proposal by yi ting (chloe) zhang, joey xu, and tam nguyen has received an honorable mention, with the project looking at ways to maximize the living conditions of a vertical home in a hurricane-prone area. the designers’ goal was to find a balance between work, life and play, while maintaining structural integrity and interaction with nature through daylighting and function of space.

hive’ by yi ting (chloe) zhang, joey xu & tam nguyen

meanwhile, another submission with an honorable mention, ‘within a hurricane shell’ by predrag petkovic introduces a predefined volume shell designed to support and defend from harsh weather conditions such as hurricanes in a coastal environment. the house is raised on supportive pillars, generating a ‘treehouse’ effect, bringing charm and lightness to the exterior expression. inside, the minimal interior features linear wooden elements, while the massive roof construction is revealed, exposing all ceiling installations. other distinguished proposals include ‘wall around’ by ui hyun hwang, hyo won jin, ‘the husk house’ by sergio trujillo, sebastian trujillo, kruti shah, and ‘rotating house’ by shidong wang, xiang ye, yibo xu.

‘hive’ by yi ting (chloe) zhang, joey xu and tam nguyen

‘within a hurricane shel’ by predrag petkovic

‘hive’ by yi ting (chloe) zhang, joey xu and tam nguyen

‘within a hurricane shel’ by predrag petkovic

‘wall around’ by ui hyun hwang and hyo won jin

‘the husk house’ by sergio trujillo, sebastian trujillo and kruti shah

‘rotating house’ by shidong wang, xiang ye & yibo xu

‘palmar’ by doel frasse

project info:

competition name: shelter: designing within a hurricane shell
organizer: arch out loud
in collaboration with: deltec homes

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom