Thomas, Rory

Architecture and Homelessness: A Misguided Relationship

TEDxUniversityofManchester (TEDxTalks)

Youtube.com

June 11, 2019

The bus stop; Rory Thomas names a common place that is used and passed by the UK public daily. He shows three photos of different city bus stops and identifies the different type of architecture. One has a long bench separated by armrests, another a “bench” or leaning post, and the third photo, a bus stop with two metal poles. Thomas asks the question, “What is the implication of these designs?” prompting the audience to ponder. “When I think of bus stops, I don’t think of comfort. It’s not a very comfortable place to sit, so imagine trying to sleep there.” “Imagine if the city you lived in was designed to make your day to day life more uncomfortable. That’s the aim.” And that is hostile architecture simply put. Architecture and homelessness both coincide, with one affecting the other. The increase of “Hostile architecture is somewhat of a plague on the design of our modern cities.” From the words of a principal of BDP, an architectural firm based in the UK, “Both housing and supports are required to solve the issue of homelessness.” Thomas concurs with so emphasizing, “At it’s core, homelessness is a socio-political issue, and it requires more than material things to solve. The word homelessness is misleading because it suggests that the only issue there to solve is lack of a home.” Jamil, a local community advocate in the UK believes that “perhaps, homeless people really just need a place where they can feel a part of something again. And that may take form in a place to shower, a place to meet up, a reference point for meeting other people.” ParaSITE, Tower of Buckets and Are You Aware are three projects aimed at helping the homeless that take the words of Jamil and conveys them into the design principle as a core belief. You may think that these projects are “Not necessarily structural and aren’t necessarily homes,” but they have positively impacted the homeless community.

ParaSITE – This architectural design created by Michael Rakowitz has benefited the homeless community from Cambridge, Massachusetts to New York City for over 20 years. The attached tube is connected to air and heating units of an existing building, which then provides warmth. Each paraSITE shelter tent cost about $5 to create. “On a technical level, it works extremely well, but the genius of this comes from a personal level” exclaims Thomas. Rakowitz works personally with each person to figure out what is needed. They collaborate to customize the shelter tents. “He takes these homeless client’s stories and experiences of the streets and he translates them into physical objects.” Some tents are asked to be made within regulations to reduce the chance of them being taken away, and “some request their tents have ribs with holes in the side to show the bare bones of living homeless.” “(Rakowitz) Isn’t so much the core designer in this as he is a translator.” Not only is Rakowtiz able to help the person have a safer experience on the streets, but also helps give a form of much needed expression.

Tower of Buckets – A piece of art located in the UK that became a reference point for the homeless, “A point of commune for the homeless community.” Thomas explains, “This is probably architecture at its most core values, it’s the creation of a place. It’s important to remind you that architecture doesn’t need four walls and a roof.” Thomas continues on explaining that such a place allows for the creation of a micro community. This is essential and meaningful for the homeless community. This provided a place for people to congregate, talk to make sure one is doing well, and space to give each other support. “It can be as simple as this (Tower of Buckets). It’s just a project that’s more than the sum of its part.”

Are You Aware? – A project created by Thomas and his peers is a project that maps the city of Manchester with available services that can benefit the homeless. “We sent the troops out,” sending people across the city asking if they have any initiatives in place to help the homeless. Places that offered pay ahead coffee programs, free dental care, and distribution of food at night were gathered and then mapped. There are two goals of Are You Aware, one is to provide the homeless community with a physical document of places that can offer help. “They could have the potential at all times know where to go and where to accept help.” The second goal in mind is to help educate the public. The map shows places that offer initiatives where anyone can help the homeless. “Maybe you’d rather go buy a coffee at these places (Pay ahead coffee) rather than Starbucks.” The map also includes places to volunteer for anyone interested.

“It’s these 3 projects that really prove there is potential in architecture for a positive relationship, but the relationship needs to be reevaluated because at the moment its wholly negative. If anything, these projects prove that architecture is simple at its core. The truth about architecture is half of it is about buildings but the other half is about people, and in the modern era, that’s lost. Go out and ask yourself the question, are you aware?”

Rory Thomas starts off talking about a common day in life, and then draws people in by subtly introducing architecture into the conversation. The way he transitions to help people understand a simple architectural design of benches to how it is hostile architecture is brilliant. When he says “the more time I spent in the same environment in London, the more blind and desensitized I became to the local issue of homelessness,” it really shows that homeless is easily overlooked even though it is very apparent. Informing people about homelessness and how it is a socio-political issue shows how big in actuality the issue is. Along with the words of Jamil and BDP principal, there is an emphasis on the need to not show hostility and ostracize the homeless as what they need most is support. The three projects are great examples of why the homeless community need a form of expression, whether it reflect in where they sleep or where they decide to meet with others. Having a personalized shelter provides safety with additional needed benefits, and the being a part of a micro-community in a world they feel excluded to, provides a sense of home, importance, and safety. This video provides an excellent insight into why architecture and homelessness go hand in hand, and how they affect each other, it is an “misguided relationship.” The project Are You Aware’s dual purpose informs people of ways to help the community. The idea of creating a map with listed beneficial locations can help one give back to the community, even if it is just buying a cup of coffee, as proceeds can go to helping the homeless. Thomas encourages people to ask themselves if they are aware of their current surroundings, and what is currently happening around the world. And I think as more people continue to educate themselves, things such as hostile architecture may be eye-opening and lead into more critical thinking. This video source verifies that homelessness is a global issue. With organizations such as WOAH (Without a Home) and other architects helping, the path to raise awareness and help find solutions to benefit the homeless community may seem brighter and bigger than it’s ever been.

Thomas states in his video that it is a shame that paraSITE tens cannot be mass produced. Why is that? It costs approximately $5 to make, which is relatively low.

“Good design should be invisible”

“the more time I spent in the same environment in London, the more blind and desensitized I became to the local issue of homelessness.”

“The word homelessness is misleading because it suggests that the only issue there to solve is lack of a home.”

“This is probably architecture at its most core values, it’s the creation of a place. It’s important to remind you that architecture doesn’t need four walls and a roof.”