Shelter with dignity

Authors’ Comment

Shelter with dignity.


We are currently witnessing a dyslexic way of using the built environment of Bucharest. In an increasingly dynamic and populated capital, it is becoming more difficult but even more necessary to look closely at the social mechanisms that make everything work. The number of inhabitants increases in direct proportion to the number of the vulnerable population, homeless or without any other destination, and we notice that the integration mechanism of any kind is strongly deficient. The lack of interest in solving this problem leads to the lack of any solution for these people and, finally, to the contrasts that arise between the social strata. The motivation of this work comes from long personal and empirical observations of the way outcasts live on the streets and alleys of the city. If we look more closely at the phenomenon and do not step up while looking elsewhere, it is impossible not to have a sense of helplessness. We want to help and at the same time we are outraged why no one has done anything so far. The present paper therefore appears as a critical reaction on the way in which the subject of homeless people is treated by contemporary society. In our project, we create a place where the shelter and the urban garden are a house for the people of the street.

The concept is based on a simple system, a flexible structure, with the ability to add new features and change according to new needs. Everything happens in the former Czechoslovak factory, which we parasitize with a metal grid and functions for the rehabilitation of homeless people. The grid is a map of the location of densities, each point representing a small space for shelter. In the future, the structure may change its function, as the project could be completely dismantled and moved to a new site that requires this type of shelter. Each shelter container can be disassembled and its components can be replaced, not wasted.
We want to create a place of transit, where street people can benefit primarily from shelter, but also from medical care, professional support and education, for a certain period, until they can integrate into society - thus creating a solution sustainable, long-term, truly responsive to the needs of these people. Wooden houses, together with counseling activities, are elements that will too accelerate the process of social integration, providing a mental health framework for people on the street.