Mango-Guida, Emergency unit, Italy, 1981/87.

This housing is a prototype of an emergency unit, developed by Roberto Mango and Ermanno Guida, from 1981 to 1987.  The research, with the collaboration of students and undergraduates in the Course of Design, has continued in the following years through other educational experiments coordinated by professor E. Guida, including solutions presented in a competition sponsored by Fantoni Furniture Group (1989).

The easy-to-transport and ready-to-use housing is intended for residential rescue in disastrous areas. Limited weight and adjustable supports allow easy and fast locking on any ground with minimum floor damage to foundations and to connections. The housing system can be stored in the most contractible form possible, re-generable and re-usable.

The typology is based on series of units merged in a linear direction with a unique self-contained structure. The accommodations have different dimensions and internal dispositions, and it can adapt to the evolution of families (number of children, grandparents, age…) over time and to different needs from its inhabitants.

References:

• Roberto Mango, Ermanno Guida, Abitare l’emergenza. Studi e sperimentazioni progettuiali, Mondadori Electa, 1988, 94 p
• http://www.padjournal.net/design-and-new-trends-in-temporary-living-for-emergencies-and-nomadism/

Authors:

Alexis Barnabe
Michel Nocture
Gin Joen Yau