EMOTIONAL SHELTER is a surprising, collaborative design between two small community-oriented architecture offices, Visionary Design Development + Here Studio, as well as four graduates from Melbourne. It has recently been selected to be built for the Emergency Shelter Exhibition to be held at Federation Square between the 1-5 May 2013.

Curator, Jun Sakaguchi, established the Emergency Shelter Exhibition series in response to the increased natural disasters over the past few years. Successfully held previously in Sydney (2011) and Brisbane (2012), this year's Melbourne exhibition features twelve different shelters by various architecture offices and studios.
               
EMOTIONAL SHELTER is a prototype for community-built shelters -- that connect and comfort people emotionally. It will be self-built off- and on-site at Federation Square by team members, taking approximately 200 hours construction time. Donated and/or recycled materials: bamboo, pallets, corrugated iron, plywood, LED lights will be used.  Construction will start at 4am, Wednesday 1 May, and the progress will be recorded on video and posted online.
             

EMOTIONAL SHELTER is designed for children, who, along with the aged and people with disabilities, are often the most vulnerable to natural disasters. The distinctive and playful design in the form of a cat houses a sheltered space in the body of the structure. EMOTIONAL SHELTER recognizes the other shelters we need after a disaster - shelters that can bring together to connect and provide comfort on social, psychological and emotional levels. Our team was interested in the power of play, and how wisdom of children can bring hope and imagination to difficult situations. Children can teach us a lot about making-do and remembering to have fun even when it's tough.

The Emergency Shelter Exhibition will be open to the public in Federation Square from 12 noon on Thursday 2 May until 5pm Sunday 5 May. The EMOTIONAL SHELTER team will be hosting a number of complementary activities including a bamboo workshop by Giant Grass, cat-inspired yoga by Pop Up Yoga Studio, film projection, and lots of fun for the kids.
                  

              
Everyone on the project team is volunteering their time and love to this project. As much as possible we have tried to secure sponsorships and donations for materials - thank you to GHG and Bowens! However, there are a number of materials and items for which we still need to raise money. With this Pozible campaign, we are looking to raise enough to cover the costs of the bamboo ($700-800), rope/bolts ($200-300), filming ($200-300), lighting ($100-200). 

The EMOTIONAL SHELTER cat will also have a life beyond its five days at Federation Square! The Venny, a communal backyard and play space for children from the Kensington public housing estate and surrounding areas, has agreed to find a permanent home for the EMOTIONAL SHELTER cat in their adventure playground.
             
You can also view our full proposal here: on our Issuu page

Full project team:
Ammon Beyerle + Michelle Emma James (Here Studio)
Mary Ann Jackson, Nick Shearman, Kamil Muhammad (VDD)
Soledad Maldonaldo, Katherine Sampson, Nicole Mechkaroff, Marjan Sangari
Shaina Saporta (ARUP)
Munir Vahanvati (Giant Grass)
Jim Commadeur (builder)
Paul Szymkowiak & Luke Weston (lighting)
Natalie Erika James (film)

Sponsors (so far):
GHG Home & Building Recycling
Bowens
Giant Grass
Pop Up Yoga Studio