Ahmedabad, February 23: WHEN Sebastian Philips, a student of the Post-Graduate Diploma programme in Product Design at the National Institute of Design (NID), hit upon the idea of building bamboo architecture along the coastal areas, he did not think that he would be developing a prototype bamboo shelter for tourists. The fully developed product will be ready in four weeks, says Sebastian, who came to NID as part of a foreign exchange programme shared with the Pforzheim University in Germany.

After stumbling upon many prototypes, Sebastian came up with ‘Concept Wrap’, a bamboo shelter which offers comfort for tourists on the beaches of India. It is consumer-friendly which means that a person can easily build the shelter with a mere Rs 20. It’s easily adaptable to the size of the person, providing him with adequate space and comfort. He says, ‘’The idea is to develop a simple shelter-like-structure with the help of bamboo, which is easy to work with, as its flexible. The only thing one needs to do is to clip together two parts of the bamboo shelter and one can relax in it.”

Sebastian says that he conducted surveys on atleast three beaches near Goa to develop the prototype. He says, “I observed bamboo huts built by local craftsmen on the beach. I also interviewed tourists and hotel owners on the beaches to find out what kind of facilities the tourists need when they are here. They wanted to feel comfortable while stretching their legs or sitting on the beach and the product has been designed keeping this in mind. Certain aspects like security for valuables and privacy have also been taken into consideration.”

He says that the whole idea has been borrowed from beaches in Germany where the concept of, ‘Roof we could share’ has been implemented. “On the beaches in Germany, sunshades are set up and given to people on rent. The bamboo ‘wraps’ also can possibly be made available on rent on the beaches itself,” he says. He adds, ‘’Features like a locker, to keep valuables, can also be added to the ‘wrap’ after the product is developed completely.”