

Slumtube: Affordable Housing Made From Shipping Pallets - mcantelon
http://inhabitat.com/slumtube-affordable-housing-made-from-shipping-pallets/

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hugh3
That's nice, but if they're so affordable why have they only built one or two
so far? Why is it that so far they've been built by rich Western volunteers
for rich Western volunteers?

The article could really use a lot more detail. How much does it cost to build
one, and how many man-hours are involved? What kinds of tools do you need? If
I woke up tomorrow and found myself penniless and uneducated in a Jo-burg
slum, how would I get started on building myself a tube house?

~~~
mcantelon
Good point. The Slumtube creator's site is even worse. Housing design hackers
could learn much from the open hardware movement.

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brudgers
See all the plywood sheets?

The open hardware movement has nothing on the construction materials industry.

~~~
mcantelon
Humanitarian housing designers don't design construction components, they
design _with_ construction components. Open hardware designers do the same
thing with electrical components.

My point is that if humanitarian housing designers want to actually see their
designs used they should open source the designs as open hardware people do.

~~~
brudgers
While it might be possible to patent a system for building with shipping
pallets, generally architectural designs are covered by copyright where they
are protected at all, e.g. the US.

Unlike hardware, good housing design tends to be site specific. It responds
directly to the geography, micro-climate, solar orientation, and culture of
the place. The slumtube is novel, but not particularly innovative.

It's a slightly hipper version of the beer can house:
<http://www.beercanhouse.org/>

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HeyLaughingBoy
_designed and built to European standards for structural soundness_

But are those standards sufficient for Johannesburg?

There's a reason that building codes vary across the US: the local conditions
are very different from region to region. My house in Minnesota experiences
subzero (F) temperatures for days every winter and I doubt the outside
temperature will go above freezing before March. But we rarely have more than
2 weeks of 90F+/high humidity. A house in South Florida would be exactly the
opposite.

Anyway, that concern aside, I would also love more information because I'm
always interested in ways to build cheap outbuildings. In fact, I wonder if
people looking for simple building ideas for the poor & homeless wouldn't be
well served by talking to a few farmers for ideas on inexpensive building
structures and techniques.

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RexRollman
I work in a warehouse and my first thought is that would be a haven for bugs
and spiders.

