Team 'Robbie's Angels'
The Design RSS
For the first project of the term we were tasked in groups to build a hut out of sustainable materials which was strong enough and waterproof enough to allow us to sleep in it overnight on the grass outside the library. Sleeping outside in freezing temperatures was not how I would normally choose to spend my halloween but we jumped at the chance to build something and beat the rest of the competition.
The materials we were allowed included plastic tubes, cardboard, plastic sheeting, bamboo canes and string all in limited quantities.
Our design wanted to focus on the idea of private sleeping pods around the outside of a public central communal area. In the end we decided on a hexagonally shaped communal space with the pods radiating off of it like a hand. There was a huge element of modularity in our design with the idea that a tunnel from each communal area could link up to another communal area with its own set of private pods.
We also liked the idea that our hut could fold up flat and be transported to be set up in a different location. Then the hut could be used in disaster relief zones for example. This worked well and we were able to complete construct our hut the weekend before, could pack it down ready to be set up in a mere 30 minutes on site.
We did have a problem during construction with our communal area. The plan was to place a bolt through our bent plastic pole frame to allow the frame to fold in on itself. Unfortunately the poles were to weak to accomodate the hole and snapped. Instead we wrapped string around the joint and this worked well and didn't hamper its functionality.
On the Night RSS
The night of testing had arrived and the hut had been constructed successfully. We settled in for the night and the hut was holding up to the rain and wind that was battering it when other huts fell apart. Unfortunately there was a massive event going on nearby in Eliot dining hall so we also had lots of drunk people threatening to destroy our hut.
We managed to stay in the hut all night and I got quite a good nights sleep. It was very cold in the middle of the night but quite warm inside the hut. Unfortunately rain did get in through one of the joints and soaked some of the cardboard supports in my pod which then collapsed during the night.
The next day our tutors came to judge our efforts and decided that our hut was their favourite. They liked our concept of private and public spaces and remarked that the interior of our communal space looked like a vaulted church ceiling. I think the fact we all looked like death and had obviously stayed in the hut all night when many had gone home to their beds helped us out as well!