P&G has partnered with Robert Barnstone, a Harvard-educated Sydney-based architect, to create a new type of purpose-built testing and medical station — packable entirely within a standard global shipping container.

Today we’re taking a closer look at these centers and describing some of the design and core functionality they provide.

The facility itself offers 250 sq ft of available space with three core zones: a lab/office area, a service deck, and clean up area. It has an incorporated water pump for fresh/waste water and includes a fully functional knee-operated sink. The unit contains a lab bench, computer station, and pharmaceutical cabinetry space; PPE changing area; electrical breaker panel, power points, generator, air conditioner and heater; and is freestanding with front and side vestibules.

The medical facility has interior shelving space to store basic medical supplies and necessary PPE and first-line pharmaceuticals.

Designed to maximize space, the container opens up to allow for an extended outside entryway that also serves as a shaded enclosure.

The knee-operated sink connects to available fresh and waste water provisions.

The facility itself can be entirely packed and unpacked and placed within a shipping container to allow it to track alongside existing shipping lines.

Once connected to electricity, the container contains air-conditioning so that it can function in all climates.

The facility was designed with testing and treatment in mind, and contains areas for secure and safe specimen collection as well as containers to discard used equipment.

Inside the shipping container, medical staff can provide consultations, administer needed treatment, and provide first-line care.

The three zones consist of: the deck, where the health care professionals will be stationed outside of the container to manage traffic; the laboratory, where professionals will be able to collect and process data in a secure, indoor area; and, the external side where PPE is changed and discarded as well as where water is stored.

Shade and air conditioning allows the unit to be utilized in nearly all environments.

The entire unit costs as little as US$25k and can be assembled by as few as three people in two weeks. For more information on this specific project, please contact us here. And if you’d like to make a donation, please visit our Raisely page here. Your donations will directly employ more vulnerable and at-risk individuals (refugees and at-risk youth) in order to build these testing centres for our communities.

Let’s make a difference together for our communities and for the world!