To someone with a hammer everything is a nail. To many architects everything can be solved by building something.
Don't get me wrong, inexpensive temporary or permanent housing or shelter is a good thing and Mr .Aburto challenges us to help design them, so let's do that but don't forget for whom we are designing. Many of these people have special needs
As Mr. Collins points out, some homeless do not want a shelter. Many wrestle with mental illness and we have few if any people available to help get them medication and help them stay on it. Many of these end up institutionalized - not in mental institutions or hospitals with nurses and doctors but in our jails with an officer guarding the door...and no medications or therapy.
Therefore, let's design temporary and permanent shelters (I'll need one here in Seattle when the earthquake comes and takes my 1929 spec house down) And let's also help and give as possible to those who attempt to care for the mentally ill and homeless, be that your local government a charity or NGO.
When designing these little units lets keep in mind the state of the people who need them.
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Marc Chavez AIA, CSI CCS CCCA
Architect- Specifier
ZGF Architects LLP
Seattle WA
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-11-2014 17:31
From: David Collins
Subject: Get rid of homeless people
Some homeless aren't homeless because they don't have the opportunity for a place to go; they choose to not be in a "place" for various reasons, some of the psychologic. We have a "neighbor" that lives in the park next door - a very nice, gentle, clean and christian man that when offered a place to stay that is warm and out of the weather (and believe me we are having plenty) absolutely refuses. He kindly declines the offer and indicates that he is fine right there - has everything he wants and needs.
So, while it is fantastic to offer end design shelter for those that need and WANT it, but it won't get rid of homeless - some choose to be homeless.
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David Collins FAIA
President
Preview Group, Inc.
Cincinnati OH
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Original Message:
Sent: 02-10-2014 17:45
From: Eugenio Aburto
Subject: Get rid of homeless people
The way to get rid of the homeless can be give them a roof to live under, which can be an architectural challenge for students or anybody with creative ideas of design.
The building material can be paper/cement, a variance of papier-mâché, using the lots of junk mail received to lots of people, news papers, plastic bags, and any other item going to the trash. Was is important is imagination, create shapes comfortable to live, even furniture can be shaped with this method, soil cement, window and doors with tree branches and plastic bags, plumbing minimum by a water tank serving the faucets, exterior finish plaster applied on the exposed areas.
Land is plenty in Cities interested in have some touristic attractions, like a community with different shapes and colors to be photographed, and buy art items from former homeless. Designer need to provide areas for volunteers' teaching they skills to produce their merchandise for sale, also design the Master Plan to make the place attractive, parking for visitors, access to water delivered by trucks to fill the water tank of the houses, also locate the place for septic tanks.
Some ideas to enhance or modify this dream?.
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Eugenio Aburto AIA
Eugenio Aburto, AIA
Palm Desert CA
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