image © designboom

to handle all medical emergencies during the world cup, the western cape department of health designed
a completely self-contained mobile medical unit. the project was led by dr. wayne smith, who gave
designboom a personal tour of the unit at a rescue station in cape town, south africa. there were no
specific requirements on the unit by FIFA, so dr. smith developed a design that would suit the needs of
south africa during the world cup and for use in situations after the event. it was made quite flexible and
very low cost, with the south african environment in mind.

the mobile unit consists of a large truck with a winch system that holds a large custom-designed
container. the whole system is stored inside this container when not in use, for easy transport. inside,
there is a large inflatable tent that holds eight hospital beds that come with all the necessary equipment
in small rolling pods. this tent sits up outside the main container and has power supplied from
a generator. the empty container can house a more private hospital room, ideal for more serious
situations. the whole unit takes only 30-40 minutes to set up.

while the unit was stationed outside cape town stadium during the world cup, it has since been used for
emergency situations in the area. in the future, the design could also be employed in rural villages where
the container would act as a pharmacy to the tent hospital. the container was designed specifically to fit
into a cargo plane.


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom


image © designboom