THE WORLD IN A SHELL - the polliniferous project

Art intervention in a technical surrounding.
Artist Hans Kalliwoda initially implemented The World in a Shell project at the TU Delft by fostering interdisciplinary research and collaboration and by combining scientific and artistic methods. Since 2000 he has involved over 50 students from various faculties, participating in fundamental research and more applied studies.

The aim was to develop an autarkic, compact and mobile living/working unit that can be placed and unfolded in any climate and surrounding, featuring an intelligent plug and play modular interior, a dual membrane cover tent, a self-loading possibility, an independent energy household and a low cost communication toolbox, all based on sustainable outlines and renewable energy.

The World in a Shell is under patronage of the Rector Magnificus of the TU Delft and of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO. The World in a Shell has been nominated to win the "Ode aan de Techniek" price, participated at the 1st International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam and was unveiled during an exhibition at the NAi (Dutch National Architecture Institute) and V2 _, the Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam in 2010.

In a time when the availability of space in urban areas is diminishing, there is a need to develop and test new models of housing/working facilities. Research and development spawned from the World in a Shell can contribute to such developments, particularly with relation to the ergonomics of compact living/working units. These units may be ideal for archaeologists or biologists working on site, for example.

Areas of research and design activities include:

- Power production and storage
- Mobility issue
- Climate protection/insulation
- Modular interior
- Water recycling
- Compactness fold in/ fold out
- Intelligent system
- Security
- Specials

Technical applications and research protocols, essential to transform the container into a self-sufficient unit, have been established. Artificial intelligence and self-learning capabilities are installed and will be further enhanced the unit's functionality. The unit's independent energy and water household will be continually monitored. The information coming from the integrated sensor and intelligent system will be available on the Internet and used to study the unit's capabilities for crisis management and disaster relief situations.