Superior Shelter From the Storm
Days after Hurricane Katrina, Michael McDaniel was grabbing a cup of coffee. Pondering how to build a better shelter for the countless displaced citizens, he had an idea: why not make a shelter that could be stacked and assembled like a coffee cup? Several years later, the Exo shelter was born.
Exo is actually like an inverted coffee cup, where the “cup” is the roof and walls and the lid is the floor. The cups can stack super efficiently: 20 on a truck bed; compare that to two trailers or one shipping container home. The lightweight structure can be lifted by four people and set up in less than two minutes.
The only type of shelter that can match its portability is a tent. Unlike tents, the Exo is constructed with aircraft-grade aluminum and insulated composite panels, which gives it the durability and weather-resistance to make it both reusable and reasonably comfortable. The Exo is lockable, a critical feature where safety is an issue. And it is set up to accept electric, heat, air conditioning and online connectivity.
Perhaps most important for the NGOs who are the Exo’s most probable customer, the $5000 shelters are 1/4 the cost of a FEMA trailer and 1/3 the cost of modified shipping containers.
And please forgive us if this sounds a bit shallow, but we imagine the Exo could be a pretty cool vacation dwelling–like a tent you can climate control and leave up year round.
Exo’s is ramping up production through a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. They have already surpassed a $50K goal by $20K, but we’re sure extra contributions are welcome. Find more info on their campaign page.