02/15: Transitional Housing

Back to overpasses and University City. This is a project from Fall 2012, a design for transitional housing for the formerly homeless. My writing from the semester:

Our site is one defined by transience, by commute, by Motion. The site is an overlap of anonymous paths and few destinations. In an effort to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for the formerly homeless, the contrast between secure abode and dynamic street has been heightened. The apartments are raised to improve access to daylight, and housed in a stable concrete frame. Circulation spaced are supported by light weight steel frames and trusses, extending from Chestnut Street’s raised infrastructure. The energy from the street traffic below is transferred as a tactile experience, a gentle reminder and reinforcement of the state of sanctuary to be found in one’s own residence.