This thesis examines how a shelter could serve as a vehicle for renewal and investigates the relationship of poverty and progress. The shelter could foster short-term relief as an aid for long-term recovery following natural catastrophic events. The project will study kinetic design to investigate a universal to specific recovery process that aids in relief, recovery, rebuilding. Piedmont, Missouri will serve as the test subject to apply universal technology that adapts to a given culture. Piedmont lies in the dangerous New Madrid Earthquake Fault Line, stretching from St. Louis, MO to Memphis, TN. In addition, Piedmont and lower Missouri have recently experienced disastrous flooding. These two hazards combined with the town’s poor demographics model much of the world’s poverty. This thesis presents a model for poor regions around world with the need to address “shelter” as it directs the healing process.