Designed during a week-long workshop, the Bivy prototype leverages the properties of Tyvek: a waterproof, tear-proof, and recyclable paper.

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For this workshop, we first explored these properties and appropriated the material by folding it, making miniature creations, without a precise purpose, giving free rein to our imagination.

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It was in the second phase, following these experiments, that I came up with the idea of using Tyvek to design an emergency shelter.

 

Anthracite grey, the canvas absorbs heat and also plays a secondary, subtler role. Indeed, nights on the street lead to obvious vulnerability, for women especially, and Bivy allows them to sleep in exposed and busy places without revealing their gender.

 

Rather than a sustainable solution, it is an ephemeral and perfectible response to a delicate issue, that covers fundamental needs, and involves ethics and human dignity.

 

Beyond the design of an object, there was also the question of its insertion with its user and more broadly the need to consider the life cycle of the product.

 

 

The Bivy concept would be democratized and appropriated by the potential owners through distribution by non-profits and shelters to the relevant population. The low tent production cost would facilitate the large scale distribution. Moreover, the base material, Tyvek, has the advantage of being recyclable, a fundamental property for this object, as its intended lifetime is rather short.