The project, in collaboration with a number of architecture students from Australia and China, involved the design of a mobile shelter for homeless individuals in Hangzhou. Our planet is in a state of crisis, with an estimated 100 million people homeless worldwide and over 2.5 million homeless in China alone. The brief was simple - design a temporary shelter for the homeless, and to tactically re-engage the relationship between them and the city.

A series of hybrid timber frame structures were proposed, functioning as both shelter for the individual, or becoming an arrangement of non-hierarchical spatial elements within the city. The flexible nature of the structures allows for art, freedom and creativity to become a vital way for citizens to engage with each other, solve problems and form relationships within the city.

The simple “A-frame” was chosen for it’s minimal use of material and also for it’s structural integrity on a range of scales/uses. Each tent structure is faced with a blank blackboard “canvas”, allowing for the inhabitants of the city to create pieces of art, write messages and share their stories. The operable walls can be opened up to allow for sleeping, lockable storage, shelving for markets or communal vegetable gardens, a picnic table, or could even be assembled to form places for play. Simple timber dowel joints with no glue allows for easily dismantling the structural system for transport between cities, and also allows for the sustainable re-use of all components.

The pavilion can be arranged to fit in any context, with the potential for use as an open lecture theatre for all members of the public, an outdoor classroom, an art exhibition or a marketplace - the spatial potentials are limitless. When the pavilion is no longer being used, each separate tent structure can be donated and relocated to individuals across the city in need of secure storage and shelter.

“Architects can’t force people to connect, it can only plan the crossing points, remove barriers, and make the meeting places useful and attractive.” - Denise Scott Brown

Mobile Architecture for Homeless Individuals // Hangzhou, China.

Collaborators: Nettie Ni, Han Xiao, Yicheng Zhang.