Housing properties
A sigloo is a ultra-low cost solar sintered igloo, and provides housing for people in need of a basic shelter.
As fusion between an igloo and a yurt, the sigloo (solar igloo) is a solar sintered house in the shape spheric dome with a diameter of 6 meters and a height of ~ 3 m made from sand. Due to the edgeless spheric design of the sigloo, it has optimal self-support and statics issues with an angled rooftop due to its dead weight are superfluous. It accommodates an area of 28 m² and has the capacity to host a family of 4 – 8 individuals. A roof-window with 1.34 m diameter will provide sufficient illumination and ventilation to the innards during the day, which also can be covered. A door with 0.7 x 1.5 m provides entrance. A basic sigloo block consisting of 3 sigloos, which are three-cornered with the doors facing away, will have a common restroom in their backyard.
Settlement unit with 3 sigloos and a common restroom in the center.
Crafting requirements
During the construction, a total path of 18 km will be sintered, resulting in a weight of ~ 1.5 tons of fused glass. The sintering will be performed by a 3d printer with 6 fresnel lenses within the timespan of ~ 14 days, therefore, a single sinter unit a can produce up to ~ 2 sigloo units per month. Hence, up to ~ 25 sigloos can be produced annually, providing ~ 100 to 200 persons an essentially free shelter.
A hexagonal parcel of 6 sigloo blocks providing space for 72 – 144 residents with solar sintered pavement.
Ultra-low cost objective
Our ambitious goal is to achieve an extreme low-cost design for the solar sintering unit, which is eventually supposed to cost well below an upper limit of 10,000 $. Then with an estimated average lifespan of 2 years, a solar sintering unit would construct at the order ~ 50 sigloos, which would result in the equipment cost for a single sigloo around ~ 200 $.
Highest potential impact
With 500 solar sinter units, housing could be provided for an entire refugee camp with 50,000 at an estimated upper cost of 5 million dollars after one year. In comparison providing 12,500 standard UNHCR tents at a cost of 300 $ would yield 3.75 million dollars. While the UNHCR shelters are expected to last only a single year, the sigloos would provide shelter with a lifespan at the order of a decade and possibly more. Entire settlements and villages can be build up from scratch very cost efficient.
The construction of sigloos or similar bungalows through the solar sintering process in regions close to deserts has the potential to change fundamentally how we construct buildings or manufacture goods in the future. Immense idle potential expires in the deserts, we should start harnessing them now.