Make It Modular: Project EDAH
Introduction: Make It Modular: Project EDAH
Hi! My name is <PERSON>, and I am a rising senior from Washington state. I will be applying to colleges this fall, and I want to major in computer science or mechanical engineering. I love engineering and design, so this was the perfect project for me. Before getting started, I wanted to say thank you to those who helped put this contest together! I would also like to say thank you for the opportunity to earn a scholarship to fund my educational goals.
I've used other Autodesk software in the past such as Tinkercad and Inventor, but this project was the first time I learned how to use Fusion 360.
I created an affordable living unit with a focus on sustainability and recycling materials. Living so close to Seattle and having volunteered at a local homeless shelter since elementary school, I have personally seen the effects of poverty, the housing crisis, and homelessness first-hand, so I wanted to create something that could help anyone experiencing poverty. In the future, I would also like to design units for families with children and people who need specific living accomodations.
With that said, I didn't want to create a basic shelter with four walls and a roof. I wanted to create something that people could call home and come home work or school and feel safe, unwind, and make memories. That's where the name of my project comes from: Everyone Deserves a Home (EDAH).
Supplies
The main tool I used was Fusion 360. If you are a student, you can sign up for an education account here and access a lot of Autodesk software for free. I've been doing this for a few years to use Autodesk Inventor and can't recommend it enough! I used Fusion 360 to design, model, animate, and render my project.
Step 1: Overview
Before I get into a detailed step-by-step of how I designed and modeled my affordable housing unit, I wanted to provide an overview to introduce the unit and briefly explain some key design decisions. If you would like more information on my research, design, and modelling process, screen recordings of me using Fusion 360, and access to the files that I created, please feel free to read beyond the overviews.
The unit I designed can house 1-4 people using one shipping container. Two people can share the full size bed, and the top space of the lofted bed can either be used for a pull out sofa or a mattress to sleep 1-2 more people. However, I would recommend that only up to 2 people live in this unit, which is why my design converted the top of the loft to a living room.
I have estimated that the materials to build and furnish one unit will be about $4,500.00. 737
This is assuming that we are able to recycle a shipping container. This should be relatively easy considering there are thousands of shipping containers not in use. This also assumes that everything in the home is custom made or bought new, so if some of the furniture or appliances are bought second-hand, it could greatly reduce the cost. Of course, this does not include labor costs or machine costs, which will raise the total cost by quite a bit.
My idea for this unit is that multiple of these can be used to create a neighborhood of shipping container homes. Shipping containers can also be used to create community centers in these neighborhoods such as a community garden or playground. As long as the units are lived in with care, they, along with the furniture and appliances inside, can be used and reused indefinitely to provide housing to generations of people. If neighborhoods need to be relocated, they can be because shipping containers are designed to move.
This design could be converted to off the grid, but I decided against it. While it is true that off the grid living is less expensive than if you're connected to the grid, this is only true after everything necessary to go off the grid has been completed. In reality, making a living space off the grid is expensive, and since my main purpose is to provide homeless people with a home, I chose not to go with an off the grid design. Afterall, the more homes that can be built, the more people that can be helped.
Step 2: Create a Shipping Container in Fusion 360
The first step is to create a shipping container. There are different standard sizes for shipping containers, but the type specified for the contest is called a 20' High Cube Shipping Container, which is approximately 20' long x 8' wide x 9'6” high.
To make sure my model was accurate, I used two technical drawings, which show the dimensions of every detail. The first was by Cleveland Containers, linked here. The second was this technical drawing by American Conex, which provides much more detail. 737