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Industrial Designer Invents Vastly Superior Disaster Relief Bed

Easy to make, easy to ship, faster to set up

By Rain Noe - October 2, 2023

in Social Impact

When industrial designers find untapped niches where their expertise is needed, dramatic impacts can be made.

For Barcelona-based industrial designer Juan Sanz, the untapped niche was disaster relief beds. Sanz learned that NGOs worldwide primarily use one of two designs: The Camp Bed or the Disc-o-Bed, which are priced at €50-100 (USD $53-$106) and €150-200 (USD $159-$212), respectively.

Those beds use metal and fabric. Sanz's ingenious Humanitaria Bed design is made out of cardboard, making it way cheaper at just €17 (USD $18).

This design is faster to produce. Sanz says any cardboard packaging factory can crank out up to 1,000 of these per hour; in contrast, producing 1,000 of the metal beds can take two weeks, and of course requires a suitable manufacturing facility.

This design is also easier to ship. 100 of the cardboard beds, which are of course shipped flat, can fit on a Euro pallet.

The design is absurdly easy to assemble. It takes a single person just seconds, vastly reducing the time required to set up a large facility.

And yes, the design is sturdy. The Humanitaria Bed can support 350kg (772 lbs), versus the 150kg-limit of the metal beds.

Sanz and business partner J. Alberto Paniagua set up a company, Humanitaria, to distribute the beds. NGOs can order them in lots of 100.

via new atlas

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Matthew Corningly

a year ago

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Clever and clean! I always liked this cardboard furniture look.
But seems like early concept stage. The ring is incredibly sturdy, I buy the 350 kg. But the two sheets on top, supporting people sitting right in the middle? I fear this will not last for long, short term usage or not. And People sweat... during Covid there were cardboard beds in India, using mattresses. I think it´s the same with these, found on google: https://aidboards.com/en. And as you can see there, Euro paletts are not 2m long ;)

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Jim Lewis

a year ago

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Very economical, how comfortable? I will reserve judgement until I spend a night on one, but at the moment color me unconvinced. And no, camp beds are not models of comfort, but not terrible either. YMMV.

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david copeland

a year ago

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@Alex - agree.

While I love the idea of low cost material, and setup is a breeze, moving the corner 'supports' inward to middle of the 'bed' makes me wonder how durable/stable it would be to a restless or shifting sleeper...anyone who rolls has no way to stay in place...no rails and no sagging to help you stay in place.

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Daniel Jordache

a year ago

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Do floors ever get mopped? Spills ever happen? In this disaster relief area, water never shows its face! The enclosed (unventilated) support structure is perfect space for mold/mildew to take hold under a warm body. At least the fabric beds conform to the body and offer some support.

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- Ryan Cee
  
  Daniel Jordache
  
  a year ago
  
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  These aren't supposed to be permanent, in which case cost and ease of manufacture and setup is far more important, which this design fulfills far better than traditional designs. Also I've slept on cots, the fabric most certainly does not "conform to the body"; at best it flexes a bit, and the cardboard mattress top surface of this is probably comparable to that in feel.
  Unfortunately, and where your argument is probably coming from which I understand, the fact this is only supposed to be a temporary solution for immediate relief will probably be overlooked when it comes to finding housing or shelter for the dispossessed.
  
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Alex Berkowitz

a year ago

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I wonder what the weight rating for those hanging edges is. Sure, it can hold three grown men standing within the support structure, but what happens if someone sits on the corner?

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- Peter Wachter
  
  Alex Berkowitz
  
  a year ago
  
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  I agree Alex. The overhanging corners I’m sure will create undesirable surprises. Perhaps a slight design compromise on the one-piece elegant folding by adding an additional pair of “headboards” underneath that in the flat adds only one extra layer of corrugated to the KD shipping mode. These could be die cut in one piece and are perforated to be separated in the field and folded and nested near the extents of the “bow and stern”. One hates to compromise such P.O.E. (Purity Of Essence” but function in these critical emotional wracked environments is tantamount. Nice piece of work. Reminiscent of the origami kayak. Keep exploring.
  
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