Floating TESS Shelters

[Edison Kiela]

To All,

It is evident that the land ownership issues are stalling the progress
of building the T-Shelters so much needed by the people of Haiti.

By using a composite fiber panel to construct my TESS Shelter Homes,
this drastically reduces the weight of my shelters while sustaining
the strength to fend off hurricane force winds and seismic
occurrences.

My design concept uses half the composite panel material of other
suppliers...therefore a savings of almost 50% over what is being
proposed.

I have uploaded the latest TESS Project and please look at Page 8 and
onwards for more information.

I may have also found a solution to your problem of land ownership
issues with my idea to place my TESS units on pontoons on the waters
around Haiti.

The "TESS Project" has been uploaded onto to FILES of this site.

Your comments, ideas and suggestions are most welcomed since it will
only help us to help the people of Haiti.

Edison Kiela

[alan scouten]

Can't find your latest site. Are your tubes now made of composite fiber? How do they assemble, disassemble? Storage under the floor an unexpected benefit. One of the most promising designs I have seen. ShelterUS SIMPLE shelters don't need pontoons, they already are. http://www.shelterusnow.com.  With a few a adjustments, your's could too?  Nice work.  Alan

[Edison Kiela]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for your feedback.

Attached is a copy of my TESS Project...pages 8 onwards are about using composite panels for a TESS shelter along with its ability to be build on pontoons.

I'm interested in your SIM panel.  What is the sq ft cost?  What are your panel thicknesses and specs? Do the panels come in standard sizes?  Are they manufactured in the USA?

You said, "ShelterUS SIMPLE shelters don't need pontoons, they already are."  Not sure what you mean...does a ShelterUS float? That would solve a lot of problems.

I think composite panel architecture will be the new wave of the future.  It makes a lot of sense using recycled materials to create better built homes in less time which are more energy efficient.  I like your SIM panels very much. 

It would be interesting to get together to build a TESS Basic Home Unit using your SIM panels as a prototype...if I had calm seas I could even sail it over from Miami to Haiti...now that would make news...if I made it over or not!

Best regards,

Edison

On Thu, Sep 30, 2010 at 3:01 PM, alan scouten <alans...@gmail.com> wrote:

Can't find your latest site. Are your tubes now made of composite fiber? How do they assemble, disassemble? Storage under the floor an unexpected benefit. One of the most promising designs I have seen. . http://www.shelterusnow.com.  With a few a adjustments, your's could too?  Nice work.  Alan

[Gilles]

I think that the problem with floating barges in Haiti as well as in
any countries dealing with hurricanes is that the barge's anchoring
would be ripped in the event of a hurricane or even a tropical storm.

As an avid scuba diver, I once dove on a wreck in the Florida keys.
When the ship was originally sunk, it lay on its side. A few years
ago,a big hurricane actually tipped it right side up even though the
ship laid 60 feet deep! It was a huge cargo ship, about 300 feet long.
Needless to say, floating barges would be tossed like toys by a
hurricane.

An alternative could be to use decommissioned aircraft carriers. The
large flight deck could accommodate a large amount of shelters and the
control tower could be advantageously used for services and shopping,
among other things.

Ideally, the carrier would have to be sunk in shallow waters with a
relatively even flat bottom so that it would be stable and not be
pushed by strong winds and waves. This could easily be done by way of
water being pump inside the ship. Because ships are meant to float and
have rounded narrow bottoms, they are unstable if resting on the
bottom. In view of that, "crutches" could be used to provide lateral
stability. These "crutches" would be hydraulically actuated steel
tubes that would ensure that the ship is totally stable and fairly
level. The ship does not have to be perfectly level though. In fact,
it'd be preferable that the deck have a small slope so that rainwater
can drain off.

The deck should be about 20 feet above the highest tides so that the
likelihood of waves passing over the deck is minimized, even in the
strongest winds. A series of barges could be tied together to create a
causeway connecting the ship to shore.

[Edison Kiela]

It's a matter of two evils: Provide decent housing on floating barges right now for thousands of people vs. allowing them to live in tent cities.  

In a hurricane or even a moderate tropical storm the tent cities will be blown apart as they were this past week in a tropical storm.  On a barge, which is properly anchored and the shelters like the ones I propose are properly anchored to the deck...they should be able to ride out a vicious storm...only tests will show if I'm right....but I do know today...people living in tent cities and sub-standard T-shelters will not survive a vicious Cat 2 or above storm. Haiti's horror will be relived again and again.

I offer several solutions to this shelter problem...the cost of a decent T-shelter will be more than what the IASC has proposed...but if they pay a bit more now up-front...it will save them so much money later on.  Or if a storm comes now and rips all the tents apart, they will start again from ground zero..they will not be able to justify the mistakes they made with these T-shelters and funding to help further will be next to impossible to get.

We, as concerned humanitarians need to make the appropriate noise to change the way the NGO's and aid groups are approaching the shelter problem and start doing it right from the onset...a second chance we will not get easily...and people will die because we made fundamental mistakes

I wonder if someone out there is listening to us?  Or are we just pissing in the wind????.

 

Which is better?

Pay a little more now for a decent, workable shelter? Or pay less now for a tent and pray no more storms hit Haiti.

With land the prime issue of where to locate displaced people, the only place now that affords a decent and workable alternative is to place the shelters on barges on the water till a land solution is found.

I hope someone finds merit in my solutions.

All the best to everyone trying to help...between us all there is a great solution!

Edison