The Homeless Shift Project is a grassroots initiative to create a positive, measurable difference in the condition of homelessness in New York City and beyond. Like many rural and urban areas throughout the globe today, New York City experiences exponentially high rates of homelessness. This is especially exacerbated by the challenges posed by the current economic climate and the scarcity of affordable, healthful housing within the city.
In closely examining contemporary homelessness in New York City, as well as the diverse models of aid currently in place, it is evident that the provision of shelter in and of itself is not a sustainable solution. Rather, to provide realistic responses for ending homelessness, the contributing causes of the problem must also be addressed as a priority. This project was created as a community partnership that would examine how homelessness is approached within the local community and which would develop new, sustainable and replicable models of engaging homelessness and human needs.
This project began as a community partnership with a shelter that serves homeless women with a history of mental illness and substance abuse. Through giving their homeless clients access to sustainable, affordable housing, comprehensive health and social services, and opportunities for personal growth, this shelter is one of the highest-ranking shelters in New York City. However, the New York City Shelter System is greatly challenged by the rate of “recidivism,” which is defined as when someone is placed within housing but later returns to the shelter system.
Some of the barriers that are identified as linked to recidivism have included minimal to no skills for daily living, such as cooking or managing finances, and very negative experiences living with others. As a result, many women often turn down shared housing opportunities and wait for one where they can live on their own. Unfortunately, these opportunities are scarce in New York City. In order to address this challenge, many interventions have been adopted to promote and maintain wellness and Critical Time Intervention and Relapse Prevention as a case management model that identifies and utilizes various levels of support. Through this project, we have built upon these practices and identified how design advocacy can be incorporated to further strengthen these goals.
To target the barriers linked to recidivism, we developed an “apartment prototype” to be built within the existing shelter. The women will live in this space for +/- 3 months in small groups directly before moving out into their housing placement. The apartment will act as a teaching and learning space for the women to strengthen their skills for daily living and gain experience in effective, responsible problem solving in order to reduce the quantity and severity of setbacks or challenges they will face while living independently. The model apartment will also give the women the opportunity to see the positive aspects of living with another person and encourage them to take advantage of shared housing, both as an economically viable option and as an opportunity to develop an additional support network within their new home environment. Finally, the apartment seeks to reconnect the women with a sense of permanence and “home,” and provides them with a space in which they can learn to make adjustments to their immediate environment to create a space that matches and supports their goals for their new life beyond the shelter.
This “model apartment,” in addition to the pilot program to be built at a local shelter, is a replicable prototype designed to be easily modified to serve the diverse homeless populations throughout New York City (and beyond).
Links and Captions:
© Emily Sprague, © Shannon Beck, © Sara Bayer (as noted)
© WKSHP (renderings)
All Rights Reserved
Project Details:
Date(s): 2008 to present
Client: A local women's shelter, Homeless populations of New York City and beyond
Concept/Lead Designer(s): Emily Sprague
Project Designer(s): Shannon Beck, Sara Bayer
Additional Consultants: Rigoberto Almaguer, Lisa Trub, Brooke Smith, Becky Labov, and other AFHny volunteers
Chapter Projects
Current
Chapter Project located in
Date started: October 2009
Date completed: Active
Background
Design DEYS is the design education for youth (K-12) initiative offered by Architecture for Humanity’s New York chapter across all five boroughs of New York City.
Architecture for Humanity New York teams volunteer design professionals with schools, educators, and non-profits interested in teaching socially responsible architecture and design. The volunteers work with the Design DEYS program director to develop customized forums where they lead students in engaging discussions and workshops geared to help them learn and understand the possibilities of architecture and the built environment.
Objectives
Design DEYS is an ongoing initiative that delivers on Architecture for Humanity New York’s commitment to youth education in our local communities. We introduce students to architecture and its ability to shape cities and influence societies, discuss notable developments in the field, and advocate sustainable, humanitarian design. Our goal is to educate, inspire, and empower the next generation of designers and architects.
Workshops
Design DEYS is continually developing new workshops. The following list includes all that are currently available for educators to choose from, based on their curriculum and the education level of their students:
Workshop Grade Level Duration
1) Introduction to Architecture K-12 45 minutes to 3 hours
2) Sustainable Design K-12 45 minutes
3) Green Building K-12 45 minutes to 3 hours
4) Photographic Mapping 5th-12th Two 3-hour sessions across 2 days
5) 3-D Modeling High school 45 minutes
6) Interior Design High school 45 minutes to 3 hours
Results
1) Mad Fun Farm Workshop
Date: April 2011
Institution: Concrete Safaris
Participants: 2 volunteers and 8 students
Summary: This workshop was divided into two parts: Part one consisted of an introduction to Architecture for Humanity where students were taken through several projects, then were tasked with sketching ideas for using recycled materials; Part two focused on drafting techniques of their original designs.
2) Career Day 2011
Date: February 2011
Institution: Pratt Institute
Participants: 2 volunteers and 30 students
Summary: Students were introduced to Architecture for Humanity and were presented with various opportunities for how they could be involved.
3) Summer Internship Program Charrette
Date: July 2010
Institution: NYC School Construction Authority
Participants: 8 volunteers and 82 students
Summary: Students were introduced to the process of becoming an architect and the players involved with each project. They then worked in groups using their internship skills to conceptualize and propose an interior and exterior redesign of the East Harlem Tutorial Program (an active Architecture for Humanity New York project).
More info: http://amared.blogspot.com/2010/09/afhny-talks-sca-sip-charrette.html
4) Workshop
Date: December 2009
Institution: PS 375 (East Harlem)
Participants: 1 volunteer and 6 special education students (grades 3-5)
Summary: Students were introduced to the life of an architect and engaged in a dialogue about the imaginative worlds of Dr. Seuss, Antonio Gaudi, and Zaha Hadid.
5) Workshop
Date: November 2009
Institution: PS 261 (Boerum Hill, Brooklyn)
Participants: 1 volunteer and 22 kindergarten students studying architecture
Summary: Students were introduced to imaginative architecture of Dr. Seuss and Antonio Gaudi and were asked to draw and present their ideal home.
Special Achievements
The N.Y.C. School Construction Authority recognized Architecture for Humanity New York for their outstanding commitment to training the next generation of architects on August 13, 2010.
Related links
Design DEYS Blog: http://designdeys.posterous.com
Open Architecture Network: http://ww.openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/design-deys
Current
Chapter Project located in
Brooklyn
United States
Date started: September 2008
Date completed:
Phase I - Spring 2009
Phase II - Fall 2009
Phase III - Fall 2010
Next steps - TBD
Background
The Red Hook Food Vendors have been selling authentic Latin American cuisine in Red Hook Park every summer since 1978. In 2008 they were awarded a six-year permit to continue this tradition, but due to health code restrictions they were now required to serve from concession trailers parked along Bay Street at the northern edge of the park. While concession trailers provided a solution that allowed business to continue, renting trailers was cost-prohibitive for many vendors and the trailers themselves detracted from the charm and appeal of the former open-air market environment.
Objectives
In autumn 2008, the Red Hook Food Vendors Committee (RHFV) commissioned Architecture for Humanity New York to help solicit designs that would help create an open-air marketplace feel in Red Hook Park. The vendors worked with Architecture for Humanity New York to develop designs for a new marketplace that would create a positive atmosphere for vendors and park-users, while reflecting Red Hook’s larger identity and history.
Solutions
The project was organized into three phases:
Phase I
In autumn 2008, Architecture for Humanity New York held an Open Call for Ideas, asking designers to submit concepts. The Food Vendors and design professionals reviewed the entries and selected five as finalists and four as honorable mention.
Phase II
Designers of the five selected entries were asked to continue developing their concepts in collaboration with Architecture for Humanity New York and the Red Hook Food Vendors. In Fall 2009, the developed design concepts were displayed at the Look North gallery in Red Hook.
Phase III
Design teams were asked to develop presentation materials including scale models for public display at an event organized by the Queens Museum of Art in Fall 2010. A public input system was installed beside each exhibited design, and a roundtable discussion was held with the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), and other relevant stakeholders and experts to evaluate important considerations in each design. A subsequent review focused on community input, capital development requirements, city regulations, costs, and other questions that would inform the development of a successful design proposal.
Results
The Red Hook Food Vendors ultimately selected “Food Fence”, by architects Mateo Pinto and Carolina Cisneros, as the final design. The design will be displayed to the public at the Red Hook Community Initiatives Gallery during the summer of 2011 in conjunction with a series of public input forums.
Next Steps
Architecture for Humanity New York and the Red Hook Food Vendors are pursuing capital funding for design and construction of the new marketplace by working with New York City Council Member for District 38, Sara Gonzalez, and Congresswoman and Chair of the Small Business Committee, Nydia Velasquez, in addition to other local stakeholders.
Funding & Support
This project has been made possible with support from New York City Council Member for District 38, Sara Gonzalez, and Congresswoman and Chair of the Small Business Committee, Nydia Velasquez.
Complete
Chapter Project located in
New York City
United States
Miles Crettien approached AFHny for help developing schematic design documents for a green roof at the 117 year old settlement in the Upper East Side. The Lenox Hill Neighborhood House now provides social services, education, legal services, housing, health food, wellness programs and mental health services as well as early childhood development. The green roof would be a part of the Health Foods and Wellness program which has four target goals:
Education
Menu Planning
Community Outreach
Connecting clients with local farmers.
While our main audience for the green roof would be the children in the program age groups 3 to 4 and 5 to 13, the roof would benefit the entire Lenox Hill community. The main goals of the green roof are:
Provide hands on education/development opportunities for
Create dynamic space that inspires and transforms the way people look at food.
Bring together people in a beautiful space that makes them happy.
The vision:
Mixed use green space.
Extensive/intensive green roof and greenhouse.
Plant nursery and have year round classroom and growing in greenhouse.
We anticipate this project to take about 2 or 3 months to measure and draw the existing conditions, produce schematic design drawings and renderings.
Complete
Chapter Project located in
New York
United States
The project we are proposing is called ARTfarm and as the name suggests, it derives inspiration from the Bronx Museum and the local farmers market. The site selected was a Step Street on 180 E 165th Street between Grand Concourse and Sheridan Avenue in Bronx. There is a weeded, run down area surrounding these steps. The site has multiple levels that allows us to transform this space into an interactive urban space for the local community. A farmers market is held every few days close to the site which gave us the idea of creating a green community space. The site is also close to the Bronx Museum which gave us the reason to make this space not only communal and green but artistically inclined. Our proposal included planters of varied sizes, shapes, colors and materials with perennials that last the season and longer. We have been working with found objects like cabinet doors and elliptical tubing materials to create these planters.
Other than that we have been trying to get the local community involved in the process of creating this communal space. With the help of the Bronx Museum, we participated in their family affair day where the children from the community painted planters. We plan on encouraging ownership of this space by asking neighboring households, bodegas, etc to adopt a planter in the site and look after its upkeep. The installation will sport a mix of community, culture and art.
