Flora Project

FLORA

Disaster-resilient Design

Disaster to Address: Typhoon

Addressing the recurring threat of Northwest Pacific typhoons, this project develops a specialized design response to enhance disaster resilience in high-frequency impact zones like coastal Zhejiang, China.

Disaster

Photo by the New York Times

Iterating on early disaster-resilient concepts.

Sketch
Sketch
Sketch

Iterating on kinetic folding and mechanical deployment.

Iterating on mechanical kinetics through rapid prototyping.

Sketch

Origami-inspired solar panels

Drawing inspiration from NASA’s aerospace folding techniques, the Flora system transitions into recharge mode by unlocking the handle to reveal an expansive, flexible solar array.

Lantern Mode

Flora functions as a portable light source in lantern mode, utilizing a mechanically locked handle designed for handheld carry or versatile hanging. The system provides durable, even illumination through an embedded lighting array diffused by high-resistance, sandblasted polycarbonate.

Flora Model

Recharge Mode

Flora transitions into an energy-harvesting configuration through a manual rotate and pull sequence that expands its flexible solar array for automatic battery replenishment. An integrated USB-C port facilitates both internal charging and critical reverse power delivery to mobile devices during emergency scenarios.

Flora Model
Flora Exploded View Render

Precision Engineering

Every component of the Flora system is designed for high-impact durability. The central core houses the battery and lighting array, while the mechanical linkages ensure smooth deployment of the solar panels.

Final Renders

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