MODA was joined by renowned architect, activist, and designer Gisue Hariri of Hariri & Hariri Architects for a talk about the firm’s exploration of “home” in their work, sharing houses they’ve designed for a wide variety of clients. 

Then, she she spoke about one of their latest projects, the Portable Folding Pod, a disaster relief solution that can become a home for anyone.

Due to devastating wars in the Middle East and the refugee crisis, natural disasters and extreme poverty, the total number of homeless worldwide is estimated at over 150 million, with 1.1 billion people living in inadequate housing. Many of these people are forced to live in makeshift camps or sleep on the streets in cities around the world, and many are still living there years or even decades later. Climate change and relentless global tensions suggest these issues will only increase in magnitude; therefore, we must find ways of accommodating global flows of people. 

The Disaster Relief-Folding Pod is a modest, modular, prefabricated shelter designed with hinged, folded panels to facilitate their shipping and assembly, allowing the pods to be transported to any desired location and then unfolded on site. In its folded-flat configuration, the lightweight Pod fits on a flatbed truck for transportation to any desired location. A solar-powered portable generator will unfold these prefabricated pods. With a push of a button in less than 5 minutes, the pod unfolds into a safe home.