SEED

Damage from Hurricane Maria, Punta Santiago, Humacao, Puerto Rico May, 2018

Existing disaster housing cycle for survivors from temporary sheltering to reconstruction

The SEED provides flexible shipping, fast on-site setup, and secure housing, with the potential for permanent expansions customized to each family’s needs.

Example of the SEED installation and expansion process based on family interviewed during fieldwork in Puerto Rico

Three permanent expansion options: two story, dogtrot, and courtyard

Prototype showing the SEED in the deployed configuration with panels unfolded.

Front view of prototype

Detail views of rear entry door and windows

Typical wall assembly for fold out panel sections

Plan

Section showing water collection and distribution systems

Structural testing for SEED container certification. Photos by Sam Markey Productions

The SEED prototype in route to container testing facility

The FEMA SEED (Shelter for Emergency and Expansion Design) is a new prototype model of disaster housing for tropical islands outside the continental United States. Unlike FEMA’s current direct housing options, the SEED can be shipped overseas and meets codes for seismic risk zone II in Hawaii and 195 mph winds in Guam. Once delivered, the unit unfolds to twice its shipping size to become a small ADA accessible home, designed to operate off-grid or on-grid, helping retain survivors in their communities to expedite the recovery process. While the SEED provides temporary housing, it could also support long-term recovery through expansion into a permanent home, customizable to the needs of each survivor family.

The design and deployment process of the SEED takes into account the social, cultural, and environmental parameters documented through extensive fieldwork by our design team on the islands. It enables post-disaster housing construction to engage local materials and labor in its secondary expansion process, but always remains as a safe house during future disaster events.

The first SEED unit has been fabricated and passed container certification testing, clearing it to travel stacked on any container ship. Further testing will include full scale wind loading and water pressure testing as well environmental and cultural acceptance testing on a tropical island. This new safe ‘temp-to-perm’ form of post-disaster housing, when deployed at scale, will significantly improve the recovery process for residents and will substantially advance the safety of island housing stock, reducing future disaster risk for entire communities.

MIT Urban Risk Lab: Miho Mazereeuw, Rich Serino, David Moses, Larisa Ovalles, Lizzie Yarina, Justin Lavallee, Xio Alvarez, Charlotte D'Acierno, Aditya Barve, Mayank Ojha, Jean Carlos Vega Diaz, Rodrigo Escandón Cesarman

Structural Engineering:
Digital Structures Group: Caitlin Mueller, Associate Professor of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Courtney Steven

Simpson, Gumphertz and Heger: Paul Kassabian, Michael Richard

Murray Engineering: Michael Lynch, Jimmy Liang

Fabrication Partner: American Manufactured Structures and Services; Alan Rand, Gary Sims

Supported by:

Federal Emergency Management Agency

This work relies in part on research funded by FEMA. However, any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employer or any funding organization.