i beam palette house

 

the palette house is an inexpensive, efficient and easily realizable solution to the problem of housing
people displaced by natural disaster, plagues, famine, political and economic strife or war.

 

 

image © designboom

 

the palette house is made of wooden shipping palettes. palettes are versatile, recyclable, sustainable,
easily assembled and universally esthetically pleasing. their transportation cost is negligible when used
to carry shipments of clothing, food, medical supplies or other relief aid. a simple palette structure
evolves naturally from emergency shelter to permanent house with the addition of more stable indigenous
materials like rubble, stone, earth, mud, plaster and concrete.

 

image © designboom

nailed or strapped together and lifted into place. total material costs including hardware equals approximately
US0. tarps draped over the basic structure prevent water penetration until additional materials are
collected. within about a month enough debris, stone, mud or earth from the immediate surroundings can
be gathered to fill the wall cavities and the roof covered with corrugated metal, wood or straw.
where severe weather persists palettes may be pre-assembled with styrofoam insulation, vapor barrier,
plywood or corrugated sheathing prior to shipping. as infrastructure is restored and cement or other materials
become available the filled palettes can be covered with stucco, plaster, or roofing tiles transforming the
makeshift shelter into a permanent home within a year or two.

 

image © designboom