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Inhabitable Nomadic Shelters: Designs Address LA’s Homelessness Crisis

23 Feb

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 3.15.52 PM

The problem of homelessness is a complex one rooted in gross stratification of wealth, and while addressing it in full means addressing poverty itself, temporary portable housing can save lives in the meantime. Many cities are implementing transitional housing programs that make use of inexpensive, easy to move structures in interstitial urban spaces. The Martin Architecture and Design Workshop (MADWORKSHOP) teamed up with students from the University of Southern California School of Architecture (USC) to come up with some creative examples of these structures.

LA homeless shelter designs 13

LA homeless shelter designs 14

homeless transitional structure

‘The Homeless Studio’ is an organization aiming to address LA’s homelessness crisis through design. Students built a series of full-scale, inhabitable nomadic shelters ranging from contraptions that fit onto shopping carts to more comfortable structures that wouldn’t be out of place in a tiny house village. Most of the materials were scavenged from around Los Angeles, and the designs had to be collapsible and suitable for a variety of locations.

LA homeless shelter designs 2

LA homeless shelter designs 3

LA homeless shelter designs 1

The results are sometimes more artistic than they are practical – like a hut clad in retail mannequin displays – but in many cases, the interiors are cozy and well-lit by windows and skylights, and one design even has a roof deck.

LA homeless shelter designs 4

LA homeless shelter designs 6

LA homeless shelter designs 7

The aim of actually addressing homelessness didn’t just consist of building a few weird-looking structures and calling it a day. The students worked with city officials, local agencies, artist and activists to come up with a holistic solution in a city where nearly 47,000 people live on the streets. They’re making repeated visits to local agencies like the Skid Row Housing Trust and the Downtown Women’s Center, speaking to people experiencing homelessness to get firsthand information about their needs.

LA homeless shelter designs 5

LA homeless shelter designs 12

They’ll also be taking the hands-on skills and knowledge they gained through this project and applying it to a larger solution, designing a 30-bed modular shelter for women for Hope of the Valley Rescue Mission in San Fernando Valley. Their efforts over the course will be documented and compiled into a publication set for publishing by the USC School of Architecture in 2017.

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Hive Habitats: Modular Floating Survival Shelters Band Together

04 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

survival pod swarm hive

Providing secure enclosures and other critical safety features in the face of tsunamis, floods and accidents at sea, this system of survival pods adds another critical dimension as well: connectivity. The award-winning Duckweed Survival House units come with variable-length tethers and are individually designed to stay upright and keep their occupants sheltered in the harshest conditions.

duckweed pod

Much like the series of independent-but-connectable space habitats proposed in Neal Stephenson’s Seveneves, each individual unit is self-supporting but also benefits by networking with the rest. The rounded-square shape helps allow the different units to be organized in grids, lines or otherwise without sharp corners that could damage adjacent units.

pod survival unit

Together, they provide increased stability, visibility, wave and wind resistance, but the units can be separated as well to avoid obstacles or for situations-specific emergency needs, like jettisoning a defective pod. As in the aforementioned work of science fiction, the idea is to maximize the odds for all survivors by creating options for configuration and collaboration.

survival pod module

A stem projecting beneath each unit stabilizes the crafts while a built-in, reverse osmosis filter turns salty water potable. Pressurized carbon dioxide gas provides quick inflatability while an operable overhead vent allows in fresh air. Bright markers aid in night rescue while also helping people in disparate pods spot one another more easily on the ocean waves.

[ By WebUrbanist in Conceptual & Futuristic & Technology. ]

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Commuter Glitch: 15 Abandoned Bus Stops & Shelters

09 Aug

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned-bus-stop-1a
Bus routes often change so why are so many bus stops built to last? These 15 abandoned bus stops are prime examples of non-transient transit infrastructure.

abandoned-bus-stop-1b

abandoned-bus-stop-1c

Wow, Topeka has really let itself go… well, some parts at least. Flickr user Mike Linksvayer (mlinksva) captured the sorry state of this brazenly neglected and obviously abandoned Kansas Avenue bus stop on November 26th, 2014.

“Feed Me, Seymour!”

abandoned-bus-stop-12

Flickr user Laszlo Ujvari snapped this naturally camouflaged abandoned bus stop on February 24th, 2013. No wonder it was abandoned: who the heck could find it? How long did it take for Mother Nature to consume this unnamed bus stop… and is there a similarly smothered bus filled with skeletons stranded nearby?

Raus-ted

abandoned-bus-stop-2

The former East Germany is awash in abandoned infrastructure and, it would seem, unwelcome bus-riding Nazis. Flickr user Jim Cooper (stilo95hp) photo-documented this abandoned bus stop and complementary busted street lamp in Hoyerswerda, a gritty industrial town near the Polish border infamous for spates of anti-immigrant violence.

Bulgarity

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abandoned-bus-stop-3b

So how’s that capitalism thing working out for you, post-communist Eastern Europe? Flickr user Tony G. (trghpu 1994) caught this abandoned Bulgarian bus stop/station on January 18th of 2013. Why is it abandoned? Well, most Bulgarians drive Bentley’s and Rolls Royce’s nowadays, dontcha know, making bus travel virtually obsolete. Yeah, that’s the (bus) ticket!

The Best Laid Plans…

abandoned-bus-stop-14

Shrubbery waiting for a bus? According to Flickr user Shawn Watson (gator_macready), this verdantly overgrown and rather large bus stop was abandoned shortly after it was built – never once did any buses stop there! Supposedly the bus stop was built in anticipation of an industrial district that never moved beyond the planning stage. Nice job of planning there, North Queensferry (Scotland) urban planners!

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Commuter Glitch 15 Abandoned Bus Stops Shelters

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Retired Buses to Become Mobile Homeless Shelters & Showers

19 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

converted mobile homeless shelter

A fleet of still-functional city buses in Hawaii sits idle simply because the vehicles have too many miles for continued use in their current capacity, creating a unique opportunity to redeploy them toward helping the homeless. Thanks to a group with a vision and starting this summer, these retired transit vehicles will begin to be turned into mobile spaces and service centers for local populations in need of a place to stay and other basic necessities.

converted bus interior space

Developed by volunteer architects and Honolulu-based Group 70 International, the idea is simple: each of the dozens of buses will be converted to a single new purpose, providing bedroom spaces in some cases but also places to get cleaned up, accept and deploy donations (warm meals, fresh produce and clean clothes) and much more.

converted bus diagram design

From bathrooms and showers to sleeping quarters, each conversion can be done with tools and materials from the local hardware shop and be completed with unskilled volunteer labor. These relatively low-cost retrofits are designed to be donation-driven, providing all of the amenities of traditional homeless shelters with added flexibility and portability.

converted bus homeless shelter

converted buses hawaii

The resulting fleet will be versatile, able to split up and move in sections depending on need and travel to various locations to serve target groups where they are found. Existing seating inside the buses will be stripped and removed then replaced with remodeled elements suited to each vehicle’s new use. The first two conversions are to be completed by the end of this summer, ready for test deployments.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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IKEA to Produce & Ship 10,000 Flat-Pack Emergency Shelters

12 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

ikea shanty village

With 40 test units created and deployed since 2013, IKEA is now ready to begin mass-producing its $ 1,000-per-unit temporary flat-pack house to destinations in need around the world. Much like IKEA’s everyday products, these shelters are ready to use right out of the box – some assembly required but all assembly tools included.

ikea flat pack home

ikea emergency housing

Recognizing the need for more robust shelters in refugee camps and disaster areas, where temporary housing often has to hold up to severe weather and longer-than-expected durations, IKEA developed Better Shelter as a low-cost alternative to conventional equivalents.

ikea modular solution

Supplied to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) by the Ikea Foundation, these new units will find homes in places they are currently used (like Ethiopia and Iraq) as well as other destinations.

ikea emergency shelter design

ikea house interior

At close to 200 square feet per unit, these are perhaps not spacious but some standards but are much larger than most emergency housing solutions. Panels, pipes, connectors, wires as well as solar power panels for the roof are all packed flat in boxes for easy shipping. While standardized, the modules are also designed to be adapted to regional climate conditions.

ikea house parts

ikea flat pack house

Shaun Scales, UNHCR’s chief of shelter and settlement, said in a statement: “The refugee housing unit (RHU) is an exciting new development in humanitarian shelter and represents a much needed addition to the palette of sheltering options mobilised to assist those in need. Its deployment will ensure dramatic improvement to the lives of many people affected by crises.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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3-in-1 Cargo Shelters: Expandable Containers Triple in Size

02 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

dynamic shipping container shelter

Shipping container shelters combine the appeal of ultimate portability with rugged durability, but these structures add another dimension lacking in the default configuration: three times as much space thanks to their transforming designs. Below are four examples with varying degrees of technological sophistication for a wide range of applications.

The RDSS (Rapid Deployment Shelter System) shown above can be deployed by one person in less than two minutes, expanding into a 400-square-foot, rigid-walled shelter – all from a single 20-foot ISO (International Standards Organization) shipping container module.

dynamic folding shelter design

interior cargo container module

While the same company offers a variety of similarly convertible solutions, the particular model in the video comes equipped with on-board heating and air conditioning systems and its own generator. The units can be sent by ship or rail, towed by trucks or flown by helicopters and stacked nine containers high.

Three-in-one cargo modules are made by a variety of manufacturers for deployment under various conditions, including military use, communications headquarters, medical triage, disaster relief centers, homes or offices – the one above is from Mobile Shelter Systems.

A soft-walled variant on the same theme of spatial expansion, the above patent-pending design unfolds two side panels that become floors with curved ceilings arcing overhead. A lower-tech approach, to be sure, but also one that could theoretically be done for much less money and in a do-it-yourself fashion for those inclined to create their own shipping container building.

shipping container home office

transforming pushbutton house design

While less suited for rugged outdoor use, any discussion of convertible shipping container spaces should include a mention of the Illy Push-Button House (which has both commercial and residential applications) designed by Adam Kalkin, the sides of which fold down to form an open-air living room area or temporary storefront space.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Bench to Bedroom: Urban Furniture Turned Homeless Shelters

25 Jul

[ By Steph in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

raincity housing project shelter

Whereas London and Montreal have installed spikes on the sidewalks to keep homeless people from getting too comfortable, Vancouver offers a kind welcome with benches that transform into mini-shelters. A nonprofit called RainCity Housing teamed up with Spring Advertising to create the modified public benches in order to provide a covered place to sleep while simultaneously raising awareness.

Bench Homeless Shelter 1

RainCity provides specialized housing and support services for the homeless in Vancouver. This two-part project highlights the importance of RainCity’s work without a hint of the exploitation that’s often seen in homeless awareness campaigns, avoiding stereotypical images of derelict people and focusing on a solution instead.

Bus Bench Homeless Shelter 3

Bus Bench Homeless Shelter 4

The first bench, which reads ‘FIND SHELTER HERE,’ has a built-in roof that can easily be folded up when needed. The second features the message ‘This is a bench’ during the day. At night, glow-in-the-dark ink highlights the text ‘This is a bedroom.’

bench bedroom homeless shelter

The Vancouver campaign is one of many thoughtful projects that meet at the intersection of activism and urban design. An open-source street store that’s easy to set up in any city offers free clothes for the homeless, and 14 thought-provoking ideas seek new ways to manage the issue of homelessness whether by meeting the immediate needs of people who live on the streets or providing more long-term transitional living spaces.

[ By Steph in Design & Guerilla Ads & Marketing. ]

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The Bus Stops Here: 7 Transit Shelters by Famous Architects

21 May

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

angled bus shelter

Trading a free vacation for their design input, a series of world-renowned designers each contributed their vision of a bus shelter to a tiny town of just 1,000 residents in Austria.

wood remix bus seat

stepped bus shelter design

Each structure within the Bus:Stop project is unique and dramatic, aimed at creating a new attraction for the area in addition to the existing natural and resort amenities of Krumbach and its surroundings.

architect bus stop project

tall top bus stop

All provide differing degrees of refuge from the elements, with some drawing on regional building typologies (stacked raw wood) or directing attention to site-specific views within and around the town (angled indicators pointing to sights).

teired wood bus stop

interior exterior bus stop

The last example above is the largest, providing both a bus shelter as well as a second-story viewing platform for a local tennis court.

bus stop design build

bus stop construction

Together with a local architecture firm and craftspeople, theses diverse shelters reflect both international design approaches and boast the capabilities of regional creatives and builders.

bus stop finished

The list of contributors includes: “Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, Wang Shu’s Amateur Architecture Studio from China, Norwegian studio RintalaEggertsson Architects, Ensamble Studio from Spain, Chilean architect Smiljan Radic, Architecten de Vylder Vinck Taillieu from Belgium and Russian architect Alexander Brodsky. The project was overseen by Dietmar Steiner, the director of Vienna architecture museum Architekturzentrum Wien. Local private sponsors including hotel and inn owners, craft workers and business people provided the majority of the funding and services to support the process. The bus stops were inaugurated on 1 May and an exhibition documenting the design and construction process is currently on show at the Vai Vorarlberger Architektur Institut in the city of Dornbirn.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Cracked-Earth Desert Canopy Shelters Underground Oasis

25 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

underground park abu dhabi

Splitting at the seams like sections of sun-baked desert, this expansive park opens to the sky between a network of gaps and provides shade for people and plant life below. A sunken oasis designed by Thomas Heatherwick Studios, this massive Al Fayah Park will span over 1.3 million square feet and feature play and picnic areas, performance spaces and festival venues, vegetable gardens and native flowers amid rivers and other water features.

cracked desert underground retreat

Anyone familiar with places like Black Rock City, Nevada will recognize the shape driving the design concept, but these are more than just an architect’s affectation. Beyond its naturalistic source of visual inspiration, the landscaping strategy speaks to climactic conditions in the United Arab Emirates – the sheltering dome of leaf-like decks keeps things cool below, but also helps prevent moisture loss.

subterrean people plants water

From the designers: “By creating partial shade for plants, the canopy reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation, improving the park’s energy efficiency and sustainability. Whilst providing shade in the daytime, the elevated plates also become a network of unique meeting places in the cooler evening hours.”

underground park panoramic viw

underground park water features

‘This sunken oasis becomes a landscape of plants, mature trees and a cluster of public recreational spaces. The 20-metre-high shaded garden is conceived as a place for families to gather and picnic, as well as a place for learning and festivals.”

desert sand subterranean space

For those potential critics who still see the structure as somewhat too literal, it is worth noting the wide-ranging appeal of something so iconic to potential international tourists. Whether the shapes seem striking or trite to a given person’s tastes, part of the purpose of the design is to be recognizable and ultimately draw in visitors from around the world. One question still worth raising, though, might be its fit in the site context – will it blend into the surrounding ground or stand out in the city?

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Flat-Pack Emergency Shelters Slot Together Like Puzzles

05 Jun

[ By Delana in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

emergency shelters flatpack plywood

Times of emergency call for quick action to get victims into safe shelters. Plenty of easily-assembled emergency structures have been designed over the years, but Australian architecture firm BVN Donovan Hill has presented an interesting take on the topic. Their idea goes together like a 3D puzzle, each piece of plywood slotting together as easily as a flat-pack furniture kit.

flatpack emergency shelter

The shelter consists of pre-cut plywood boards that would be delivered to a disaster site flat-packed. Each piece has notches that fit into the next piece; assembling one of the shelters requires no tools other than the hands of one or two people. Once the wooden skeleton has been assembled, a waterproof skin is put on the outside to keep out the elements. The goal is for the structure to be able to be assembled in just one day.

easily assembled flat pack emergency shelter

The inside of the structure features contours that jut out to create shapes that could be used for sitting or sleeping. That’s according to the designers – to us, the thin plywood shapes don’t look comfortable enough to support a person without an extreme amount of padding between them and the human body.

modular pre-cut easy assemble emergency shelters

According to the designers, one of their main goals in this design was to create a space that is not simply utilitarian, but one that creates happiness in times of tragedy. The shelters are small – around 100 square feet – but very heavy at about half a ton each. This makes each one quite substantial and perhaps usable for long periods if necessary.

temporary emergency shelter flat pack

The structures can be grouped together to create a temporary community, with some buildings serving as meeting places instead of grouping all of the victims together in one very large space. The concept will require a significant amount of fleshing out before it becomes a viable option for disaster relief, but the idea of an easily (and quickly) assembled, private temporary home is one that will appeal to just about anyone who has ever been displaced by a natural disaster.

(images via: Inhabitat)

[ By Delana in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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Posts Tagged ‘Shelters’

Inhabitable Nomadic Shelters: Designs Address LA’s Homelessness Crisis

Hive Habitats: Modular Floating Survival Shelters Band Together

Commuter Glitch: 15 Abandoned Bus Stops & Shelters

“Feed Me, Seymour!”

Raus-ted

Bulgarity

The Best Laid Plans…

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Commuter Glitch 15 Abandoned Bus Stops Shelters

Retired Buses to Become Mobile Homeless Shelters & Showers

IKEA to Produce & Ship 10,000 Flat-Pack Emergency Shelters

3-in-1 Cargo Shelters: Expandable Containers Triple in Size

Bench to Bedroom: Urban Furniture Turned Homeless Shelters

The Bus Stops Here: 7 Transit Shelters by Famous Architects

Cracked-Earth Desert Canopy Shelters Underground Oasis

Flat-Pack Emergency Shelters Slot Together Like Puzzles

(images via: Inhabitat)

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(images via: Inhabitat)

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Commuter Glitch 15 Abandoned Bus Stops Shelters