The purpose of this paper is to discuss a technology combination between easy assembling shelter and reflective insulation, starting from emergency needs of displaced people. Shelter means by definition (a habitable covered living space, providing a secure, healthy living environment with privacy and dignity to the groups, families, and individuals residing within it’ (T. Corsellis, A. Vitale). Materials like cardboard, aluminum guarantee the covered living space, giving privacy feelings needed for traumatized people after disaster. The lightweight, flexibility, recyclability of these materials offer an effective answer to this need presenting fast assembly structures. In combination with these marterials, to provide healthy living environment, different projects involve the use of reflective insulations. Exploiting the reflective properties of these components can be possible to increase the technological performance ensuring lightness, space saving and easy installation. The paper started studying the shelter state of art by different case studies, where reflective materials are used to improve thermal performance. (Ape Tau’ by Atelier 2, after Aquila’s Earthquake, is one of these projects, in particular for the use of thermo-reflective materials. This analysis is accompanied by (Paperboard Shelter Workshop’ practice, held on October the 4th, in Lecco. It was inside the current Academic Network for Disaster Resilience to Optimize Educational Development (ANDROID) and from (Cardboard Shelter Workshop’ Professor Toshihiko Suzuki experience, after Fukushima Earthquake. Students have gained awareness of the emergency requirements issues, with a small units construction, made of cardboard, useful to understand the meaning of handle spaces and easy fitting. The result is a technological design view where healthy and space performance is combined to guarantee psychological and physical safety to displaced people. The observation of reflective technology in this extreme context can be useful for civil application as a future development too understand the meaning of handle spaces and easy fitting. The result is a technological design view where healthy and space performance is combined to guarantee psychological and physical safety to displaced people. The observation of reflective technology in this extreme context can be useful for civil application as a future development too.
