TANABE, Wakayama — This local city has signed an agreement with Tokyo-based Lifull ArchiTech Co. to secure quick-assembly “Instant House” shelters and improve evacuation center conditions during disasters.
According to the company, Instant House units are made from fabric that can be carried in a backpack or suitcase. This is inflated, and insulation sprayed into the interior wall. All told, the units take as little as two hours to assemble. Lifull ArchiTech says the structure, with a cylindrical living space and a conical roof, can withstand winds of 288 kilometers per hour, 40 centimeters of snow accumulation and an earthquake with a seismic intensity of 6 on Japan’s 7-point scale.
Securing privacy at evacuation centers and maintaining evacuees’ health when they sleep in cars are major challenges during disasters. Through the agreement, Tanabe hopes to smoothly create separate spaces for each evacuated family using Instant House units.
“We are in an era when unexpected disasters occur across the country,” Mayor Mitsutoshi Manago said, adding that his region “must be on alert not only for earthquakes but also for storm and flood damage, and this (the Instant House) will be a major help during disasters.”
The company also offers products including “Instant Room” units — private spaces built out of cardboard. Tsukasa Yamanaka, director and chief operating officer of the company, said, “We hope to provide spaces that people can use for lodging and recreation in normal times, and where they can relax and live as usual even during disasters.”
(Japanese original by Koji Osawa, Tanabe Local Bureau)
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