The Tiles: Be a Community.

After a Disaster it's imperative for people to feel safe, rebuild, and collaborate while getting to ease your mind. The Tiles are modular, 3D‑printable puzzle pieces that community members can design, customize, and assemble together. The purpose of The Tiles is to connect those who experienced a disaster while being cost friendly, and expandable to accommodate everyone. The Tiles are homemade 3D printable puzzle pieces that can be designed by those in the community to feel safe and be productive. Tiles can be customized to anyone's liking for an enjoyable experience. The tiles can also be folded into 3D structures which can be a placeholder for lost homes.

Tiles can be built with a 3d printed mold and concreate in order for maximum strength.

Tiled will go from door to door making a new neighborhood in no time.

The Tiles aren’t just objects. They’re a shared act of rebuilding, one piece at a time.

I'm Arihant Nag, currently in in the 7th grade and I love making stuff!

Design:

Onshape or any other CAD

Tools:

3D printer

PETG

Best all‑around strong material.

Tough and impact‑resistant

Slightly flexible (won’t snap)

Great for outdoor use

Easy to print

Doesn’t warp much

Perfect for: tiles, connectors, outdoor pieces, community builds

ABS

Classic engineering plastic.

Stronger than PLA

Handles heat well

Good for structural parts

Can be smoothed with acetone

Downside:

Needs an enclosure

Smells while printing

Good for: heavy‑duty tiles, load‑bearing parts

PLA +

If you want something easy but stronger than basic PLA:

Very easy to print

Stronger and less brittle

Good surface finish

Good for: fast prototypes, decorative tiles, safe community printing

Nylon

One of the strongest consumer materials.

Very high strength

Very high impact resistance

Slightly flexible

Great for hinges, clips, connectors

Downside:

Harder to print

Absorbs moisture

Good for: tile connectors, joints, anything that must not break

Polycarbonate (PC)

If you need maximum strength:

Extremely strong

Heat‑resistant

Very durable

Downside:

Requires high temperatures

Needs an enclosure

Good for: heavy structural parts, outdoor installations

TPU

Rubber‑like material.

Bendable

Shock‑absorbing

Very durable

Good for: soft tiles, comfort pieces, anti‑slip bases

paper model:

11x A4 Paper

pencil (to show connect areas)

Scissors.

tape to connect tiles

3x balloons

3d file:

the file in in the final step.

After a disaster, people don’t just lose buildings — they lose connection, safety, and a sense of control. Rebuilding can feel overwhelming and isolating, especially when communities are waiting for outside help. The Tiles offers a simple, human‑centered solution: a system of 3D‑printable puzzle pieces that anyone in the community can design, customize, and assemble. Each tile becomes a small act of rebuilding, creativity, and ownership.

By connecting these tiles, survivors create shared spaces — paths, plazas, gathering circles — that grow as the community heals. The Tiles are affordable, expandable, and easy to produce using common 3D printers, making them accessible even in resource‑limited situations. Most importantly, they give people a way to rebuild together, transforming recovery into a collaborative, empowering experience where every person contributes a piece of hope.

each tile is built according to the temporary home placement. tildes and be re-arranged in a group effort whenever needed.

To create a Type 1 Tile using a mold and concrete, start by preparing a simple square mold made from wood, plastic, or a reusable silicone form sized to your tile dimensions. Lightly coat the inside with a release agent so the tile can be removed cleanly. Mix your concrete according to the package instructions until it reaches a smooth, pourable consistency, then fill the mold halfway and gently tap the sides to remove air bubbles. If your design includes raised patterns, grooves, or puzzle‑style connectors, place your 3D‑printed inserts or shape guides into the mold before adding the remaining concrete. Once filled, level the surface with a straight edge and let the tile cure undisturbed for the recommended time. When fully hardened, remove it from the mold and smooth any rough edges with sandpaper. This process creates a durable, weather‑resistant tile that can be combined with others to form community spaces after a disaster. Type 1 is designed to withstand multiple storms.

A Type 2 Tile is created entirely through 3D printing, making it lightweight, customizable, and easy for community members to produce. Begin by designing the tile in CAD with puzzle‑style connectors, surface patterns, or symbolic features that represent healing or community identity. Once the model is complete, slice it using standard print settings for a strong material such as PETG or PLA+, USE 80%-100% INFILL adjusting infill and wall thickness to ensure durability. Print the tile flat on the build plate to maintain accuracy in the connectors, and allow it to cool fully before removal to prevent warping. After printing, lightly sand any rough edges and test the fit with other tiles. This method allows anyone with access to a basic 3D printer to create meaningful, interlocking pieces that can be assembled into shared spaces after a disaster. Type 2 may need to be rebuild or parched in the case of another natural disaster.

To build tiles label and connect 2 pieces of paper with tape, draw and label connectors (shown in image). connect 5 tiles together to make an avenue. lay them out on a flat surface.

Tape 2 sheets together.

Make a small fold through both short opposite sides. the fold will help the house stand up. label your house on one side of the paper only.

Tape a short fold to the edge of a tile, don't tape over fold, the house will otherwise be hard to put up.

Fold your house up and place a balloon to stop it from collapsing. Let air in or out for the optimal size of house.

put tape on the back fold and tape it down, adjust balloon for the best looks.

Do the same for 3 different places on the tile road (if you have 5 tiles).

5 tiles > 3 houses

7 tiles > 4 houses

9 tiles > 5 houses

11 tiles > 6 houses

After you have placed all your houses down with the balloon method, you are done with your model!

In the end, The Tiles became more than a design exercise — it became a reminder that healing starts with small, human scale ideas. Even simple materials like paper and balloons helped me explore how communities can rebuild connection through creativity and collaboration. Every prototype, whether digital or handmade, showed that recovery doesn’t have to begin with large structures or complex systems; it can start with a single tile, a shared space, or an idea that brings people together. My hope is that The Tiles inspires others to imagine solutions that are accessible, community‑driven, and rooted in the belief that rebuilding is something we do side by side.

the best part is that even you can add more tiles and homes, eventually making a city!

I hope you had fun with this project and please add more, go wild, and show your paper nation!