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Architect Andres Duany, best known for work designing New Urbanist communities (walkable, small-scaled, mixed-use) has shifted gears a bit to create a light, expandable shelter known as the “core house” for Haiti’s homeless. The house, designed to stand up to earthquakes and hurricanes isn’t Duany’s first foray into disaster relief housing: several years ago he helped develop the prefabricated “Katrina Cottage” as an alternative to the widely criticized FEMA trailers.

Duany’s house for Haiti is small– 8′2″ x 8′2″ x 19′8″—but can sleep 8. Essential for cost-reduction and ease of distribution—can be packed flat in a package less than two feet thick. It’s designed for quick assembly from a strong, lightweight, and waterproof composite material Duany describes as miraculous. Can this work in Haiti? We hope so. At present, there are at least a million people without homes in the hurricane-battered country.

Rendering courtesy of Jetson Green

This post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of GOOD’s collaboration with the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.