Globe.Trot
"Homelessness is a complex issue encompassing multiple facets of society. the theme (and the jury decision) caused much controversy and the here presented 130 variations on the theme are already widely discussed across many sites. It is no surprise to us that we are receiving comments suggesting that we are doing something superficial and self-satisfying, but in answer to that, we say that design is the tool we know best, so we will use it to bring social discussion to our audience.
the massive participation rate made it clear that there is a growing awareness of the homeless issue."
-Shelter in a Cart Competition Statemet
One question that comes to mind when seeing some of these designs is how the competition came to be. Are we really striving to better situate people in the streets or should we be aiming to get the homeless off the streets? Doesn't one further separate the homeless from society by successfully designing an adaptable shelter?
3 comments:
Check paraSITE, the work by Michael Rakowitz: http://www.michaelrakowitz.com/
Thanks for the link, I thought that was really interesting. Even the name PARASITE raises questions and makes you think about the interaction between the nomad and the neonomad.
Have you checked out City of Quartz by Mike Davis?
Rakowitz quotes him:
"One of the most common, but mind-numbing, of these deterrents is the Rapid Transit District's new barrelshaped bus bench that offers a minimal surface for uncomfortable sitting, while making sleeping utterly impossible. Such bumproof benches are being widely introduced on the periphery of Skid Row. Another invention, worthy of the Grand Guignol, is the aggressive deployment of outdoor sprinklers. Several years ago the city opened a 'Skid Row Park' along lower Fifth Street, on a corner of Hell. To ensure that the park was not used for sleeping - that is to say, to guarantee that it was mainly utilized for drug dealing and prostitution - the city installed an elaborate overhead sprinkler system programmed to drench unsuspecting sleepers at random during the night. The system was immediately copied by some local businessmen in order to drive the homeless away from adjacent public sidewalks. Meanwhile restaurants and markets have responded to the homeless by building ornate enclosures to protect their refuse. Although no one in Los Angeles has yet proposed adding cyanide to the garbage, as happened in Phoenix a few years back, one popular seafood restaurant has spent $12,000 to build the ultimate bag-lady-proof trash cage: made of three-quarter inch steel rod with alloy locks and vicious outturned spikes to safeguard priceless moldering fishheads and stale french fries"
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