‘The Sand Dollar’
External Tent 45 Feet Diameter X 10.3 Feet High
Internal Tent 14.8 X 7 X 10.3 Feet High < 100 SF

Rubber, Polymer Fabric, Inflatable Structure, Pump

This shelter is a response to the call from Architecture for Humanity to design a structure for ‘displaced refugees’. The form is a geometric reference to sand dollars we find washed up on the beaches of New Jersey. I have always been ‘fascinated’ by their structure – thin and resilient. This ‘Sand Dollar Shelter’ is comprised of high insulation polymer fabrics and ‘structural inflatable’ members – new technology available through the military. The charges available from the solar collectors could be used to activate a pump, fan above or light the tendril shapes of the dollar in the evenings to provide people comfort. It should afford protection to a small family of ‘refugees’.