General Information

Custom-Made Programs

The Smart Shelter philosophy is unique and can be experienced from just one day, up to full-semesters length.

Our workshops and programs are custom-made and can be combined and adapted
according to your wishes and needs.

We currently have 5 standard workshop formats that can be modified or expanded by adding, combining and interchanging the various lectures, assignments and hands-on experiments. The more time and variety we can include, the more detailed and complete the results will be.

Aside from a group of enthusiastic participants, we don’t need much to run the program. We’ll come to the location you specify, where all we need is a projector and a compatible laptop.

Essentials for Hands-on experiments

For most of the hands-on experiments, we will need some light tools and materials such as knives, scissors, glue, and tape. Students will be asked to build a solar cooker or a piece of art completely out of scrap. They will need to find these materials on campus themselves.

For soil testing, we’ll need a simple gas burner, weighing scales, a 75-micron test sieve, and a 200-micron test sieve. Most universities have these materials available in their labs.

For hands-on assignments that involve construction, such as building a wall or a small structure, we need a larger work space or outdoor area, as well as some serious building tools and time to gather enough materials to build. All of this requires a longer preparation time and a budget.

Field Trips

We strongly recommend incorporating a field trip into the program to make the overall experience more real. We’ll look at local customs and building practices, architectural features, climatic design, structural safety, and so on. This will help students better understand the context and create realistic designs.

We’ve already successfully organized design and research field trips to countries with disaster-prone areas such as Indonesia. We studied traditional earthen, wood, and bamboo architecture in rural Vietnam. And in Macau, students investigated the problem of cage farming, an important social issue for which sustainable solutions are urgently needed.

Longer-term programs

If you prefer a longer-term commitment, we can organize design studios and summer schools. We are also open to discuss teaching positions.