'Homed' project could house New York's homeless in clustered, honeycomb-like pods
Both land and affordable housing are becoming scarcer in New York City, with skyrocketing rents and, subsequently, a steadily increasing population of people who are homeless.
But a new project aims to capitalise on the city's surplus of "vertical land," by building clusters of housing units on the side of existing New York buildings to house those currently without a home.
Homed is a new proposal from Framlab, an Oslo and New York City based creative agency, founded by Norwegian designer Andreas Tjeldflaat.
Homed is a densely-packed cluster of 3D printed hexagonal housing modules, to be built on the side of existing New York buildings using a scaffolding framework. The shelters could form "suspended micro-neighborhoods for the city's least fortunate," according to Framlab.
New York's Coalition for the Homeless estimates that as of September 2017, over 62,000 homeless people sleep in New York shelters each night — and that's not including the amount of people sleeping on the streets.
"The number of people living in New York City without a place to call home has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s," notes Framlab's pitch.
"The city's shelter system is at capacity and struggles to offer spaces of safety, cleanliness, and comfort for the city's least fortunate."
So, Framlab proposes a "homeless shelter with dignity," as an innovative means to house the city's homeless citizens in independent units — and capitalise on "unused" vertical space.
"Albeit limited in size, the unit nevertheless offers a space dedicated for single-occupancy. This is a response to a host of factors which the typical shelter spaces are unable to provide, many of which are crucial for acceptable qualities of life: privacy, safety, individuality, self-esteem, among others."
One of the most unique aspects of the Homed project is the use of vertical space for mounting the units. Nobody's using this wall, why not make it into a home?
"Although almost every square foot of space in NYC has been claimed, there still manages to exist an abundance of 'vertical lots' sitting idle," says Framlab's project description.
"These are the blank sidewalls of buildings that emerge and disappear as new developments come and go, providing hundreds of acres of available 'land.'"
Framlab intends to build the units upon a vertical bed of scaffolding, with access to the units via embedded stairs. The clusters can also be disassembled and relocated if the hosting structure develops or is demolished, and can be installed on another building.
So, let's take a look inside.
Each unit is based on the affordable single-room occupancy (SRO) units that dominated New York's housing market until their construction was prohibited in 1955 — although Framlab's units have a more 2017 minimalist aesthetic.
Each Homed unit is designed to provide year-round housing that can handle New York's changing climate — from harsh cold to simmering heat. The exterior of each pod is made up of oxidized aluminum cladding. The pod's front face is made up of PMMA Smart Glass, which could allow digital content to be presented to passersby — whether this be artwork, public information or commercial content (get that sweet, sweet advertising revenue for more pods).
Each minimal unit has a floor-to-ceiling window wall, and the layout can be tailored to the needs of residents, with a range of recyclable bioplastic 3D printed modules on offer — you can pick from different furniture, storage and lighting presets.
Some units may contain desks and beds:
While others are designated as communal bathrooms, with basic plumbing fed to the unit through the scaffolding:
Finally, some units can be designated as communal spaces, allowing for social interaction:
With these 3D printed modules at its core, Framlab notes that the project could potentially be highly cost-effective in the long run, with the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) working with a casually colossal annual operating budget of $955,300,000.
Whether New York (and its citizens) embraces the Homed proposal, and Framlab receives funding for the project remains to be seen. But if 62,000 people could potentially be housed in independent spaces, instead of the city's shelters, it's an idea we think is worth considering.
Topics Social Good New York City Innovations
Shannon Connellan is Mashable's UK Editor based in London, formerly Mashable's Australia Editor, but emotionally, she lives in the Creel House. A Tomatometer-approved critic, Shannon writes about entertainment, tech, social good, science, culture, and Australian horror.
