Wearable Architecture: Fashion to the Rescue

Abstract

This dissertation, titled “Wearable Architecture: Fashion to the Rescue,” studies fashion and architecture in order to assess if the emerging urban nomad fashion trend can inform a new direction in temporary disaster relief for the families of Hawai‘i. The intention is to discover whether the clothes and accessories worn by survivors of natural disasters in bicoastal cities can provide shelter and relief to survivors between the event and the supply of government issued temporary housing. The methodologies used to prove the need for a wearable disaster relief kit are organized into three parts. The first topic researched is natural disasters. Analysis and observation of natural disasters support and demonstrate the need for a kit in times of a natural disaster. This section covers the various needs and problems of a disaster victim and thus reveals what design features should be incorporated into the proposed prototype. The second topic researched is minimalist shelters, which include indigenous shelters, low-income housing, and homeless shelters. This study is crucial as it explores the world of people who live with only the most basic and simple items that are necessary for survival. The resulting information is aimed at defining the basic essentials of everyday survival and how these necessities can be incorporated into a wearable disaster relief kit. The third topic researched is current related technologies. While the first two parts focus on the needs of people following a natural disaster as well as on a day-to-day basis, this part focuses on the tools and inventions that people have created to help address those needs. The information gathered concentrates on portable architecture, wearable architecture, survival kit tools, and materials. With this information, ideas for the prototype arise as the potential and constraints of each invention are examined, thus paving the way for design features that can be incorporated into the proposed prototype. Based on the information gathered, the design parameters were created and this list served as a guide for the wearable disaster relief kit prototype. By establishing the limitations and structure of the design, it paved the way for the design of The Compleat Retreat. The Compleat Retreat is an all-in-one shelter, jacket, floatation device and emergency kit.