As a member of the Environmental committee, I help to determine all of the environmental goals and constraints for the construction of the shelter, specifically relating to lifecycle, materials, and energy. The committee determined that all materials should be environmentally friendly wherever possible, and anticipates that sub-teams will ensure longevity of parts. The shelter lifespan determined as a reasonable goal was 5-10 years, and any interior components that may have a shorter lifetime than this are required to be easily and affordably replaceable. Many measures can be taken to improve energy efficiency, so in addition to the regulatory determinations, the Environmental committee offered a number of suggestions to various sub-teams. These include maximizing insulation by using double pane windows, utilizing renewable energy through roof-mounted solar panels, and removing any non-essential equipment, such as the air fryer which had been fairly seriously proposed as an addition to the kitchen. After conducting research into energy usage in similarly sized living environments, the Environmental committee implemented an overarching energy constraint, limiting the shelter to no more than 20 kWh per day across all functions.

As a member of the Shell sub-team, I design the exterior and walls of the trailer to ensure functionality in a broad range of climates and weather conditions, as well as maximizing durability and longevity. I frequently work with and assist the Frame team, responsible for determining the shape of the trailer and developing a frame to support the walls, interior and exterior loadings, and withstand tumultuous ambient conditions. Working within constraints imparted by both the Environmental and Regulation committees, as well as the shape defined by the Frame team, I work to design walls that met insulation standards to increase comfort in the shelter and reduce energy demand. I also assist in designing a mounting mechanism to securely seal the wall panels to the frame and in implementing windows and a door into the trailer. One of the imposed scoring metrics for this project is the ratio of functional volume versus mobile volume, or the ratio of the volume that can be achieved when stationary and set up at a given location versus a smaller volume into which the shelter can be compacted during transportation. To design towards this metric, the frame team plans to implement a number of retractable or otherwise collapsable extensions, such as the raising roof that can be seen in the models above. In order to maintain insulation in this open section, research has been done into insulating fabrics that can be rolled up and stored during transportation then deployed upon reaching a destination.

Moving forward, the immediate next step is to finalize the selection of construction materials for the walls and create a BOM to submit to the Finance committee. This will involve further research into windows for the shelter and confirmation from both the Environmental and Regulation committees of the achievement a sufficient R value of insulation to meet project goals.