Now if I ever get stuck in an emergency situation, I hope to have one of these ‘off the hook’ fabulous inflatable emergency shelters designed by the WE Group collective, which are as sustainable as they are smart. The concept was recently introduced at the Alan Baxter gallery in London. I’m seriously impressed. Here are the details as explained by the WE Group:

The design consists of a double-walled tent, which is inflated and kept rigid by a solar-powered fan.

WAS tent is an inflatable structure for shelter, water storage, natural ventilation (air) and solar energy collector. The structure is easy to transport to the disaster site. A quiet fan keeps the tent inflated as long as needed. The structure is installed in less than five minutes and can be folded up in the accompanying bag when deflated.

Thin photovoltaic-cell film mounted to the inner layer of the surface provides electrical power. The double layer skin is the self supported structure and also provides excellent insulation at night. The geometry of the structure, informed by the principle of natural ventilation, helps to cool the internal space during the day.

And here’s my favorite part. The designers actually care about the experience of the survivors in the tent. As they say, “We want to make people feel like being inside an enormous bubble separated from the outside chaos and protected.” And protected they would be since the structure is self-contained with “integrated design considerations for solar power, ventilation and water supply.”

The idea behind the design is to send these to disaster relief areas around the globe and I completely support that, but if they ever go retail, I’m getting one for my emergency kit. I’ll keep you posted.