Can This Quarantine Pavillion be the Design Solution for the Pandemic ?

CubeX Quarantine Pavilion

As the world is plagued by the pandemic of coronavirus, hospitals around the world are reaching their maximum capacity and positive patients are being left untreated resulting in avoidable deaths everywhere. Architects and designers all around the world are contemplating how they can contribute in battling the ongoing pandemic with their designs and ideas.

Designer : Ankit Kashyap

An Architect based in Delhi has proposed a conceptual design for a temporary pop-up quarantine facility that can be set up inside hospital premises and can be used to isolate mild-symptoms COVID-19 patients or monitor suspected patients and keep them from spreading the infection in the community till the results are determined.

The pavilion is made up of flexible modular units that are easy to deploy and assemble on site and therefore can provide much needed shelter in a very short time. The design enables addition of more modular units to the existing pavilion if the cases rise and more patients come in and removal of existing modules if the patients recovered and the space is no longer needed. When the shelter is no longer required it can be easily transported to other areas of requirement.

The module is made up of lightweight aluminium, wood and fabric for ease of transportation and assembly. Each unit folds flat to a size of 9′ x 4′-6″ x 1′-4″ when not in use and opens up to a size of 9′ x 9′ x 9′ when in use. Translucent/opaque fabric rolls down from the top panel to cover the module or to provide partition between two. External panellings can also be provided from the outside wherever the fabric covering is deemed insufficient. There is also a scope in the design to incorporate electrical wiring, LED lights and side vents.

CubeX can be easily set up inside Hospital premises which can help hospitals accommodate more patients so they are not sent home because of no vacant isolation wards in the hospital. Keeping additional quarantine shelters inside hospital premises is convenient to both patients and the hospital as compared to turning distant buildings into quarantine shelters or temporary hospitals as the spread can be contained in a single zone and the healthcare workers don’t have to be segregated into two different areas to monitor the patients. 

With no requirement of skilled labour what makes the design promising is its speed, scalability and buildabilty. The pavilion can also be re-used post-COVID-19 as shelter for homeless, additional treatment wards in hospitals and refugee camps in disaster relief.

“Design is a powerful tool and an intention to contribute leading to a problem-solving design can help aid our world in recovering from the coronavirus pandemic”- Ankit Kashyap

Pavillion : CubeX Quarantine Pavilion

Size : 9′ x 9′ x 9′

Designer : Ankit Kashyap