Pod housing has gained traction over the course of recent history because of its many benefits. In comparison with more traditional housing systems, pod housing systems are oftentimes much more cost and space effective, easy to build and implement, and very flexible in terms of location and design.

I have seen several pod systems before and felt it would be a fun and useful challenge trying to develop my own, while using the parameter of folding to drive my designing decisions. What I present below is my attempt at using the idea of folding to create a 3 part pod housing system named C-Pod (Standing for Curved Pod), with the hope that it tackles the housing crisis we find ourselves in currently.

Supplies

Online Modeling:

Computer/Laptop
Autodesk AutoCAD
Autodesk Inventor

Physical Model:

Laser Cutter
3D Printer
Glue (Wood or Super)
Printer Filament
Oak Wood Planks

Step 1: Create a Bendable Wood Pattern

In essence of the whole premise of this pod system, we have to find a way to incorporate a "bend" or "fold" into the design. When I initially started brainstorming how I would do this, I thought back to a mini-project that my friend and I had done before where we made use of small cuts in wood panels that allowed them to bend.

The whole thought behind of the design you see above is that the slits take pressure and tension off of the wood when bent, and as you might expect, the tighter the slits are, the more bendy the wood becomes.

If you want to recreate this pattern for yourself, create the rectangle that you intend to bend (Which in my case was 2.5 by 5.5 inches), and then inside said dimensions create a row that includes arches which connect to straights. Again, if you want a very bendy piece of wood, you will have to use smaller yet more plentiful patterns. I had to play around with scaling my original pattern until I found a size that gave me a bend factor I liked, but once I had it, printed 4 of them (And 2 other entire rectangles scaled down by a factor of 0.8 so that I had 1 pod smaller than the other two to break up the silhouettes in the end).

*Attached below is the AutoCAD file of these pieces alongside the ones mentioned later*

Bendable Wood 3.dxf
Download

Step 2: Model the Flat Parts of the Pods

Now that we have our foldable pieces complete, the next step is going to be creating the flat pieces of the pods which will attach to the bends, that is to say the pill shaped tops and rectangular straights.

For starters, we will make the straights. I wanted the straights to be slightly longer than the length of the bends, so that in the end we will have a really nice cylindrical profile. I took the same 2.5 inch width as the bends (So that when I glue them later they are flush) but made the length 6 inches as opposed to the 5.5 inches from before. This is reflected in the first image, where the main rectangle is what I'd tell the laser cutter to cut for 4/6 rectangles. Of course, for the smaller pod, I scaled down the shape by a factor of 0.8 like I did with the bends.

For the pill shaped top, I had to make it match the shape and dimensions that would result once I had bended and glued the wood. To see this, I bent the wood from Step 1 into the semi-circle I wanted, held it with grips, and measured how long the distance between the two ends was and the distance from the center to the tangent point of the semicircle. All this to say that in the end I had about a 9 inch length pill top from end to end to attach on the top of the pods (And another scaled down by 0.8 for the small pod).

These two pills are seen in the 2nd and 3rd images, and you can access these shapes with the AutoCAD file from before. With these shapes done, we have the way we are going to create the pod shape and provide it stability once we get to the gluing process.

Step 3: Support Beams

With the wood for the pods all modeled, I wanted to create a way to ensure that not all the pods were on the same level, as I feel final presentation with 3 pods on 3 different levels would look really good.

I settled on a really simple beam support system, with thin rods of differing lengths attached to the bottoms of the pods to hold them upright. I wanted one pod on the floor, one up high, and one in the middle of them, so I created two sets of rods to mimic this.

I opened up Inventor and started a new sketch. Here, I create a square array of 4 circles with diameters of 0.4 inches, thin enough to not be blocky in appearance but sturdy and strong enough to hold up the pods. I copied this square over to the side to model the other set of rods as well. From there, I extruded the first set up 1.5 inches (For the middle pod) and the other set 3 inches (For the higher pod). This can be seen in the first image.

*Attached below is the Inventor file of these rods*

Rods for Support.ipt
Download View in 3D

Step 4: Laser Cutting/Printing

At this point, I was ready to take everything we had modeled up until this point and finally bring it to life, whether through laser cutting or 3D Printing.

With our walls sketched in AutoCAD, the next step is to actually cut them out. The software we will use is called LightBurn, which is typically paired with the Thunder Laser Nova 35 which my school provides. For more insight on how to set up your cut in LightBurn, check out this video (Click Here).

Once you’ve exported your AutoCAD file into the software, however, and appropriately set it up, just start the process and wait for all your pieces to be cut. Be mindful of the thickness and dimensions of the wood you are cutting, as you might have to change things around depending on material properties.

The cuts are not only extremely precise, as the laser is fine and pinpointed, but also happen rather quickly, so you can cut all of the pieces you need in a few minutes. In the end, you should have all your needed pieces cut out straight and efficiently.

The tool I will use for 3D Printing is the Bambu Lab A1 mini printer, which is the one my school provides. This printer has a respective software as well, and if you want to learn how to set up a print, you can watch this video (Click Here).

In the end, I had every wall, bendable piece and rod needed to assemble these foldable pods.

Step 5: Gluing the Bendable & Flat Portions

To successfully create the pods, I recommend first gluing the edges of the pieces together and THEN bending it once and for all. This allows the glue to cure/dry better and ensure that the pod is much more stable in the end.

The process is pretty simple and consists of you alternating between attaching a rectangular straight next to the webbed bendable piece and then straight and bendable portion once more. If you look at the associated image, you can see the alternated gluing process, to which I would then attach the last bendable piece on either straight to finish it off.

Tip: The Laser Cutter will create a "burned side" as you can see in the image, which is the side laid upon its bottom. I would recommend is you have any access glue to wipe it across this side, as you will bend this side inwards and cover it up with the top to reveal the cleaner side at the end.

Step 6: Bending and Finishing the Curves

Once the glue has dried on the edges of the pieces, you can move onto bending the pod into shape and holding it. Here, you have to pick up the long strip of wood that you just glued and bring the two sides that aren't glued pressed upon each other, apply some wood glue, and hold that seam together with a clasp until the glue dries.

If you take a look at the images, you can see how I bended the wood inward on the already glued part, and applied a clasp on the edge that was not glued to keep it in place. Additionally, you can see how the "burned" side is facing inside the pod, which will then become covered with the roof and floor in the next step.

Once everything is dried, you can remove the clasp and notice how you have a sturdy seam that still allows the bendable portion of the wood to move, perfect for structural stability and resilience

Step 7: Closing Up the Pods

With the hollow body of these folded pods done, we now had to close up the exposed top and bottoms. Using the pill shaped pieces we designed and cut earlier, we are going to do just that.

Apply an even line of wood glue along the outer edge of the burnt side of the pill, and then flip it over and press it against the edge of your hollowed body. I would recommend pressing the bottom first and then the top as seen in the first image, and then applying something heavy on top to provide some weight and pressure to allow the glue to dry everything in a more secured manner.

When the wood glue is finished drying, you can take the weights off and see your finally completed pod body, which all stemmed from the bent wood we had at the start.

Step 8: Attaching the Rods

To allow the pods to stand up, we are going to glue the support rod/beams onto the bottom. I had some wood rods which fit the parameters of the prints I was going to create anyway, which is why in the photo they are wood (But plastic printed rods will certainly work as well).

Apply a small amount of wood or super glue onto one of the circular ends of the rods, and press it onto either the top/bottom of your pill floor or to the sides (As seen in the images).

I recommend placing these somewhat near the edge so that the weight is more evenly distributed across the body as opposed to being held more so in the middle, which might yield some wobbly or unstable results. Of course, remember to use wood glue if both pieces are wood, and super glue if it's plastic instead, and give it ample time to dry. For my specific pods, I'm putting the shorter rods on the smaller pod and the longer ones on the bigger one, so if you'd like to follow along do that as well.

Step 9: Final Presentation

With the 3 pods cut and glued, complete with support rods as needed, we can hold the pods upright and take in the final result of this foldable project.

I decided to take out a 10" by 10" slab of oak wood to place the pods on top off and angled the two pods on the side to break up the monotonous look that having them all face the same direction would yield. I think in the end the final product does a really good job at showcasing how the process of folding can promote simplistic yet useful design, and can force one to get creative on how a simple idea can be implemented in new or never before seen ways.

As a whole however, creating the designs and models, and then going a step further to bring them to life, was a really fun and gratifying process. I wish from this you learned how to bring a cool idea to life, or maybe even felt the urge to tackle this very project yourself!

Step 10: Implementation

With the physical design established, we can try to get an idea of how we would build these folded systems in areas where we need them the most, like in urban areas facing severe housing or affordability crises: for example, Los Angeles, New York City, Houston, and many more. Large cities like these attract many people due to opportunities for ones career and education, yet are unable to comfortably house as many people as intend to live there. If we can acquire the right warrants and permits, and get creative with the spacing and location of pod systems like these, then we can potentially save many people from an unfortunate outcomes. Before there have been proposals for reworking large areas to house more people, like unused golf courses or open fields, and this eco-friendly and space-efficient system is perfect for just that.

We would have to develop a team of designers and contractors, establish budgets, research the site deeply and run polls and comply with metrics regarding local communities and city organizations alike. From there, we would have to plan and finalize a design, and then acquire permits and materials, all as part of a pre-development portion of construction. From there, actual construction occurs, where we will prep our site and make use of said lead designers/project managers and contractors to construct our pod system in a way that best suits the needs of the people and restraints of the environment we are in. Lastly, with the pods done, we will delegate jobs to qualified individuals to manage and keep the system smooth and successful, and open the housing to those who need it most.

It is my hope that with the system I provided an outline of today, we can use the medium of folding architecture to help tackle issues hurting our country today, a step towards using modern thinking and technology to better the world around us!

Introduction: C-Pod: Curved Modular-Pod Housing