SheltAir

SheltAir rethinks shelter design from every angle. Not only is SheltAir modular, lightweight and easy to transport: it is also demountable, reusable and beautifully designed. SheltAir is a robust and elegant gridshell structure (not a tent!) and erected by nothing other than air. Its biomimetic design takes inspiration from shells and its soft and sensual form provides its users with a place ideal for mental and physical healing – something that most other shelters fail to do. The shape of the gridshell, the choice of materials and even the colours have been selected to achieve the highest levels of quality.

Large-span shelters for communal gatherings are not catered for in refugee camps due to the necessary prioritisation of family dwellings. Military field hospitals are complex constructions and difficult to erect. Temporary shelters for homes lost to climate disasters are typically inadequate and degrade quickly. SheltAir is so revolutionary that it offers genuine and novel solutions to each of these problems. SheltAir is completely reusable and uses the least amount of material as possible. The strength to weight ratio is phenomenal, it has a tiny carbon footprint but delivers a significant and positive environmental and social impact.

The novelty of the SheltAir design cannot be understated, nothing like this exists in the world. SheltAir was developed and optimised in academia and now we’re proud to partner with Victoria’s own Enzie Spiral Staircases to begin series production and global distribution. We aim to revolutionise shelter design and quality for people in need. We will demonstrate the next iteration of SheltAir at the prestigious ‘open house’ exhibition in Geneva next to the UN in 2021. We are proud to also be working with Victorian firms C.E. Bartlett Pty Ltd and Tex Connex Pty Ltd on the membrane fabrication.

The shelter crisis is very real and in desperate need of innovation, particularly now during a global pandemic. SheltAir was made possible not just by implementing a good idea. It took years of research and prototyping. A novel and custom computational simulation was developed in order to analyse the pneumatic erection process and to determine precisely which shapes are possible and which are not. Beyond the digital, innovations have been achieved in the physical design as well. E.g. the laser-cut steel end connectors feature a sailing cleat design which is vital to the speed and feasibility of the erection method.