12-Year-Old Kid Makes Homeless Shelter from Plastic, Wire and Packing Peanuts
March 1, 2009 · Print This Article
Who knew that a 12-year-old boy could design and create a modern, stylish shelter for homeless people from trash? Max Wallack created the ‘Home Dome’ out of throwaway plastic, wire and packing peanuts for the PBS Kids Design Squad ‘Trash to Treasure’ contest.
From Idea Locker:
Max recalls: “When I was six, I won an invention contest that included a trip to Chicago. While there, I saw homeless people living on streets, and beneath highways and underpasses. I felt very sorry for these people, and ever since then, felt that my goal and obligation was to find a way to help them. My invention improves the living conditions for homeless people, refugees, or disaster victims by giving them easy-to-assemble shelter.”
Entirely made of Styrofoam peanuts stuffed into discarded plastic bags, “The Home Dome” is a round dome in the shape of a Mongolian yurt. It includes a built-in bed that anchors the dwelling down by the weight of the person inside. It helps the environment by using one of the most bulky and difficult-to-dispose types of trash that our society produces and transforms it into homes.
How incredibly creative! For his design, Max won $10,000, a Dell laptop powered by Intel and a trip to Boston to see his design come to life. Very impressive – congratulations, Max!
Link [Design Blog] + [Idea Locker] via [Green Building Elements]
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I love this idea and the video, however, I do wish they would have tested the thing out in the wind and rain. How well does it keep cold out? or water? and what about the bottom? Maybe they can create one more section that folds down to create a floor. And maybe they can make one of the hexagons clear, like a window.