UK architect Foster + Partners and Swiss cement maker Holcim teamed up to design a shelter for displaced people.
Their Essential Homes Research Project debuts at the Venice Biennale on Saturday.
Holcim said the shell is made from low-carbon rollable concrete sheets. The interior is lined with boards from US company Elevate and insulated with low-carbon Airium foam.
Holcim says the homes are “circular” because each component can be reused or recycled at the end of their life.
Norman Foster, the president of the Norman Foster Foundation, commented: “How can we ensure everyone, including some of our world’s most vulnerable populations, can have access to decent living conditions?
“During the Venice Biennale we show our work-in-progress on this idea; the outcome of a few months of intensive activity in collaboration with Holcim.”
Jan Jenisch, the chairman and chief executive of Holcim, said the design would showcase how “sustainable building can be possible for all”.
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