It’s a coat that can serve as a sleeping bag and even a tent. Among the first entries for the WDCD Refugee Challenge is a wearable shelter for refugees, designed by Interior Design & Textiles students of the Royal College of Art in London. The concept already made it to all major news media in the UK and abroad.
The multifunctional wearable dwelling was designed in direct response to the Syrian refugee crisis. When worn as a coat, the design resembles a baggy parka with a large hood, made from a strong, paper-like synthetic material called Tyvek. Pockets on the inside can be used to store passports and personal documents.
Black zips allow the coat to be completely opened out and transformed into a sleeping bag. Lightweight kite-rods can then be fed through specific seams to form a tent. Visual assembly instructions will be printed onto each garment.
The project is led by professors Harriet Harriss and Graeme Brooker, and the student designers are Gabriella Geagea, Anne Sophie Geay, Cassie Buckhart, Eve Hoffmann, Anna Duthie, Jess Wang, Hailey Darling, Zara Ashby, Ruben Van den Bossche, and Giulia Silovy.
A Kickstarter campaign for the project just ended unsuccesful. Join the WDCD Refugee Challenge to provide your comments and help to bring this project further.