Italy Designed an Emergency Medical Facility Out of Containers

Itlay is the worst-hit country in the world by Coronavirus pandemic. In a matter of merely 24-hours, around 743 COVID-19 patients passed away; raising the overall death toll to 6,820. More than 3000 people are in critical condition, and more and more patients are coming to the ICU each day. Hospitals in Italy are overcrowded while the medical staff is running down due to sheer exhaustion. And unfortunately, there is no sign of the pandemic to slow down anytime soon.

Considering the exponentially growing need for ICU, government and organization are looking for a reliable solution to the problems that are taking the lives of the people. An international task force of engineers, designers, military experts, and medical professionals, came together to develop CURA. This is an open-source project envisioned at setting up Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

The team of CURA came up with an exceptional idea to transform shipping containers into intensive care pods that will be used as wards for the patients suffering from COVID-19. The project was designed by Italo Rota and Carlo Ratti, two Italian architects. They revealed that these 20 feet high intermodal containers could be set up at the same time as a hospital tent.

And they will be safe to be treated as isolation wards due to the presence of biocontainment with negative pressure. Additionally, these pods will be mobile and can be efficiently transported within hours. They can be used individually or can be connected through an inflatable structure. The architects explained that each biocontainment unit would be integrated with medical equipment and abode two patients. The first CURA is being built in an open-source framework in Milan, Italy and is sponsored by UniCredit. After testing CURA here, the team would proceed with the country-wide installation.