A Medium-Term Hybrid Shelter for the Rehabilitation of Disaster Refugees,
Since 2005
Ezri Tarazi with d-Vision
and Groove Design Studio
The Hybrid Shelter project was initiated in 2005, in the early stages of Ezri Tarazi's collaboration with the Keter Group's d-Vision program, which produces lightweight structures that can be assembled by users. Based in Israel, the Keter Group exports these structures as garden sheds to the American and European markets.
The Hybrid Shelter is a solution based on producing simple, injection-molded parts using a proven technology of polypropylene recycling. Its parts are designed to be easily and simply assembled with no prior technical knowledge, and enable the structure to be coated in mud. The assembly of the plastic parts is very simple and requires no special skill, much like that of the prefabricated garden sheds. The structure has a high-quality roof that filters in natural light, windows that can be opened and closed, and a lockable door. The assembly of the plastic structure takes approximately half a day. Several people working together for four or five days can completely coat the walls in mud. Once coated, the thickness of the wall may reach a total of about 10 cm, providing good thermal and acoustic insulation.
Ezri Tarazi is a Full Professor and Chair of the Graduate School for Design at the Technion– Israel Institute of Technology. He is the former Chair of the Masters Program in Industrial Design (M.Des) at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem (1996–2004). He was a researcher at the Bezalel R&D Company (1990–1996). In 1996, he founded the Tarazi Design Studio, and was also a co-founder of the Israeli office of IDEO, and the founder of the d-Vision program at the international Keter Group. He has been involved in a variety of startup ventures in the fields of renewable energy, medical equipment, and innovative design products. He is the recipient of the Red Dot, Design Boom, and ID Magazine awards, and the author of 7D Fostering Goods (2013). His works have been exhibited in numerous venues worldwide, among them The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; and the Milan Triennale.
Concept 1 (2010) was installed at the Vitra design workshop village, Domaine de Boisbuchet, France; Keter Group: Sami Sagol (chairman), Sender Tal (president), Efi Haimoff (R&D center manager), Haggai Paz and Amit Katz (design and development); d-Vision program: Ezri Tarazi (director), Tzipi Kunda (manager), Hila Rogozik (coordinator), David Keller, Liron Tzanhany, Jonathan Meshorer and Guy Ceder (interns) / Concept 2 (2017): Ezri Tarazi (development and design) with Groove Design Studio: Alon Leibovitz and Sharon Shmila (development, design, rendering, and construction); Faculty of Architecture, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, TCOM laboratory, directed by Assistant Professor Yasha Grobman (CNC milling, model printing), with the assistance of Yonatan Ben-Haim (model printing); carpentry: VNG Country Kitchens; mud construction: Tal Nachshon.
