Palo Alto architect wants to aid victims

House Arc, designed by Bellomo Architects of Palo Alto, is a small structure meant to be assembled on-site. The firm hopes to produce them for Haiti and other ravaged areas.
Photo Courtesy Bellomo Architects

A Palo Alto architect wants to aid victims of natural disasters such as the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile – not by writing a check, but with modular cottages that can be assembled with ease.

Dubbed House Arc, the sleek bean-shaped domicile is the creation of Joseph Bellomo, whose more conventional projects include several Palo Alto homes. The parts consist of lightweight steel ribbing and posts and lightweight wall panels that can be shipped in a single box.

“We’re trying to prove you can create something fitting for that weather condition that can be erected in a day or two,” Bellomo says.

The test Arc will be installed this month on a Hawaiian site where Bellomo Architects has another project, but his hope is to find financing to manufacture 500 to 1,000 units at a cost of $12,000 per unit. This would include a “rooftop” trellis embedded with solar panels.

Bellomo is hardly the first local designer to take an interest in disaster recovery; Architecture for Humanity in Sausalito has been inspirational in its efforts to help begin reconstruction efforts in Haiti. But with all the pressures facing our world, every creative initiative helps.