Shortlisted for installation design of the year at Dezeen Awards 2019, Mud Shell by Mudd Architects uses drones to coat a shelter in clay that could be used in refugee camps and disaster zones.

As part of Designjunction during the 2018 London Design Festival French architect Stephanie Chaltiel and her team constructed Mud Shell, a sturdy domed shelter from bags of hay attached to a wooden lattice that was then sprayed with a mixture of clay and fibre using a drone. Built in 3 days in London Southbank, Mud Shell highlights an affordable and sustainable emergency housing system that could be adopted anywhere in the world. The initial geodesic skeleton is mounted in one hour, the dry prefabricated triangles containing the insulation material fitted onto the frame in one day and the drone spray phase of viscous matter stabilised with lime lasts two days and was performed for the public in heavy rain and wind conditions. Mud shell attempts to be a new model of emergency shelters by using local materials and drones.

Designer: Mudd Architects
Project: Mud Shell