The Anomalous Homeless Community

A take on a piece of creative writing titled ‘The Homeless Man’ by Anna Smail

Rising above the plane of the working man, superior to the structural storage unit for automobiles, stands a community. Passers-by strain their necks to gain a glimpse of the life above, physically out of reach but drawing ever closer as its occupants are reintroduced.
A vibrant construct of similar circumstance, neighbours who differ in history but share a desire for companionship, security and health. Where once they were scattered and left to be swallowed by the street, disregarded by a society too busy to understand or too arrogant to acknowledge, they are now pride of place. An environmental heaven where old was reimagined, the most minimal of shelter given true form and structure and turned into something that could be considered home.
The natural environment conquering the battles of their unsettled minds, dusting their image and presenting their true self towards society that had forgotten them. Given place and purpose, belief of their own, belonging.

My aim for this project was to reclaim a WASTELAND site to house the homeless community of Brighton. I reimagined the space through a STACKed form that would create communication and promote a social environment that gives people their own space above the city that they were once trapped within. I applied knowledge of Streets in the Sky, that I researched for my extended essay, to my personal knowledge of homelessness to provide a space that the homeless could call home. My desire within my studio work has been inspired by volunteering at my local homeless shelter over Christmas and realising that I, as a young architecture student, can have a real impact on this situation and can work towards a positive outcome where no person will be left homeless.