Stuart Williamson

Industrial Designer
Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom

Ensuring the immediate supply of food/medicines/water is a key priority in responding to disaster situations. Supplies have to be delivered quickly and efficiently and this can often be difficult due to remote locations/bad weather and limited transportation available. Maximizing the capability of these supplies is vital. Examine the whole process/system/operation of providing relief supplies in a disaster scenario. Think of total packaging re-use of all materials and containers from the shipping/air container onwards.

Central to this brief is identifying a real need.

Inspiration:

The inspiration for the project came from a CBS news article about the South Asia earthquake:

“The U.S. military in Afghanistan started loading cargo planes to drop aid by parachute to devastated areas in neighbouring Pakistan”

“Millions of people urgently need food, medicine, blankets and shelter. But small villages remain cut off by blocked roads, and its already snowing in parts of the region”.

Direction:

What if parachutes were more than just a method of delivery? Parachutes can deliver aid to nearly anywhere almost immediately.

What if they could provide:

Shelter, medical aid, food, water and warmth?
A place to live, for people who have potentially lost everything. Made from materials which have a valuable secondary use?