Flood Life Pack by villalta

Completed / Public / Columbia University / Architecture, Industrial Design

Our brief was to make a backpack [in two weeks] that contained a water purification system-designed thinking about movement in section. I chose a user who lived in an area that is plagued by flash flooding and a long rain season. This user could be anywhere but I chose to work with the Northern part of Brazil where the expansion and contraction of the Amazon and all it’s surrounding tributaries cause a lot of flooding and damage. The Flood Life Pack that reacts to the rain season in two ways, collecting the rainwater or collecting water while in a flooded condition and a system that acts like a life jacket. Taking my inspiration from a gill the life jacket can be closed or open to retain or filter water. The buoyant part of the vest acts as a collector for the water and brings it down the contours of your body-utilizing the force of gravity- to pass the dirty water down a series of filters along the side of the ribs The collection and filtration part of the pack then interfaces with a collection bag or a user with a collection device. These two components are connected by a light weight fabric with ribbing that not only holds the system in place but that also allows the user to control how the pack is open or closed-similar to a venetian blinds.

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