Slide one

My name is Catherine Evans, and this is my thesis Living in Plain Sight, Rethinking the threshold

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My thesis statement is as follows: Rethinking the threshold to welcome unhoused individuals into a sheltered environment in a dignified manner.

The argument for this is that the current houseless population struggles with entering sheltered environments due to the humility of the process. Living in Plain Sight studies thresholds and how they can provide a welcoming transition from the street to the sidewalk to a built structure in a dignifying way. 

Slide three

I will be going over the key points of my journey through my thesis with the topics of Keywords, Discourse, Precedents, an Introduction, Design as Research, Design Tests, and my reflection and next steps of my thesis. 

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Keywords

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Shown is how I defined my keywords: Threshold a transitional space Houseless the state of lacking a dwelling to protect an individual from the elements Reintegration the process of introducing and supporting an individual back into society Shelter a structure that provides protection from danger and the elements Community a support system of people with similar interests one can rely on especially in a time of need Safety the feeling of protection from danger. 

Slide six

Here are the definitions provided by Oxford Languages and Blanchet House. Threshold a strip of wood, metal, or stone forming the bottom of a doorway and crossing in entering a house or room Houseless is used in place of homeless The reason is the important distinction between a house and a home people described as homeless are not necessarily without homes Reintegration the action or process of integrating someone back into society Shelter a place giving temporary protection from bad weather or danger. A place providing good accommodations for the homeless Community a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common Safety the condition of being protected from or unlikely to cause danger risk or injury. The definitions I had written are not far off from the dictionary definitions shown here. 

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Discourse

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I asked myself four initial questions how can architecture accommodate different family types and their sleeping arrangements? How can architecture help people progress back into the “real world”? How can homeless shelters/housing be appealing? And in what ways can architects aid in deterring people from designing anti-homeless architecture? I researched these questions and used the articles shown on the right to begin to form my thesis

Slide nine

I then reviewed these questions through the lens of social reintegration asking four further questions of what is the best course of action to meet the needs of a houseless individual? How can houseless shelters aid in an individual’s reintegration into society? Where would be the best place to situate a shelter that will help someone hide in plain sight to preserve confidence and dignity? Why do houseless individuals continue to live on the streets if there are other options available to them? This is where I began to redefine the term homeless to houseless as previously stated, home can be a feeling, not a place. I also began to understand the community by reading about real-life experiences and how to properly go about the process of reintegration.

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Then this led to looking through the lens of confidence and dignity again asking myself four questions about how to make the process of entering a shelter more dignifying and reading articles to better understand how this can be executed. 

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The final part of the discourse was when I began looking through the lens of Thresholds. Learning from Steven Holl, Gaston Bachelard, and multiple articles started my understanding as to how thresholds can be inviting. 

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Precedent Studies 

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The Dada district located in the Czech Republic by Kogaa Studio is a former storage facility that has been transformed into a mixed-use and affordable housing complex. It has been sustainably constructive through adaptive reuse and the green spaces located around the building not only acts as a sustainable resource but also a community space for the residents. Diagrammed over the drawings are highlighting community space, living space, and support spaces. 

Slide fourteen

The Nancy and Stephen Grand Family House located in San Francisco California designed by Leddy Maytum Stacy architects is housing for families that have children with life-threatening illnesses. This space brings the families together to cope and heal together in a more comfortable setting. This structure shows how support spaces can be surrounded by living spaces to create a welcoming environment for the tenants. 

Slide fifteen

The Six located in Los Angeles California designed by Brooks and Scarpa is an affordable housing complex for disabled veterans. The six is located near MacArthur Park which is a highly trafficked area with one of the highest population densities with a total of 120,000 people in 2.72 square miles. There are large amounts of public and private spaces, and the open spaces are secure. This provides a community-oriented interactive space which is something that the unhoused population needs. 

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Introduction

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In 2022, The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reported that there are around 582,000 Americans experiencing houselessness. Even with countless shelters and solutions for this population, the numbers rarely fluctuate. HUD collects their data through sheltered individuals so there is the possibility that numbers and percentages could be higher or lower than reported. Often, people that are unhoused live on the street or in their car, couch surf, or take shelter in abandoned facilities or spaces. 

The TOP REASONS PEOPLE BECOME HOMELESS are largely Job Loss, Drug or Alcohol Use, Divorce or Separation, Family conflicts and a multitude of other reasons. 

Slide eighteen

This map provides a view of the areas at risk of homelessness in Boston. There are many criteria for determining at risk of homelessness which are shown below. 

Slide nineteen

People have been against the adaptive reuse or construction of shelters. Shown is a protest that is against a homeless shelter but also against the idea that people are not being provided long-term solutions 

Slide twenty

Referencing back to the Blanchet House, Scott Kerman lays out how words like homeless, houseless, home, and house are being redefined to better suit the population they are describing. 

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States with major cities have shown to struggle with rates of unhoused individuals the highest being the District of Columbia 

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This graph is a direct representation of the rates of homelessness and how they fluctuate over the years. 

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Comparing graphs from 2012 to 2022, there is not a large difference in numbers which shows that something needs to be changed to aid this population. 

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I looked into interviews with people who have experienced homelessness. These individuals come from all over the US and have had very different experiences that led them all to a similar outcome. 

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Framing the narrative Growing up in small towns across Southern New Jersey shaped my perspective in life. The transition from the close-knit community of Folsom, NJ to the vastness of Boston was shocking, mainly the difference in the dynamics such as accessibility to public transportation and walkability. Unlike the common fear of the unhoused present in my community in South Jersey, Boston presented with a different scenario. 

Being told about my uncles Steven and Johnny’s battle with addiction, particularly after they became unhoused, profoundly impacted the way I looked at life. Witnessing their challenges-jail time, attempts at employment, and the struggle for Steven to care for his child ignited my determination to make a difference in the world. Steven owned a construction company, and he would often tell me “When you are an architect, I will work for you, and we can build houses together.” Unfortunately, not long after this, he passed away. This then intensified my commitment to becoming an architect and helping individuals that are facing similar challenges in life. 

On the right side, there is a photo of my Uncle Steven, My mom Danielle, and my Uncle Johnny on my mom’s wedding day

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Audience 

Architects The first step in welcoming unhoused individuals into a space is creating the space. This research will provide them with the tools that they would need to understand the community and how to properly design spaces for them. Architects have the knowledge and power to create beautiful and welcoming spaces and the hope is for them to use it for good. 

Unhoused Individuals, They have to want to seek shelter. The houseless rates can only begin to lessen if the people are willing to accept the help provided to them. Once the resources become available to them, it will be up to the individual to choose how they want their life to change.

The Community The last step is the community accepting the changes happening around them. It is very often that people are against shelters and other types of housing for unhoused individuals so, they will have to be susceptible to change. This thesis is meant to inform the community so that they will welcome the change with open arms. 

Slide twenty-seven

Closing 

Throughout the years, the amount of unhoused individuals has barely gone down which can be due to many factors. Housing crises and job loss are often the main reasons for this number constantly fluctuating. After understanding my own uncle’s struggles and hearing the battles that others have faced, the desire to help the unhoused population has become even stronger. Architects have the power to do so many great things with the knowledge and skills they possess, they just have to understand the complicated population that they are dealing with. 

Thresholds within cities often act as a barrier. Thresholds should be something that is inviting and creates a welcoming environment for anyone that enters. Restating a quote from Gaston Bachelard “The lock doesn’t exist that could resist absolute violence, and all locks are an invitation to thieves. A lock is a psychological threshold.” This further explains that thresholds can be a barrier but, architecture has the ability to change that. Entering a shelter can be a humiliating experience and rethinking the way thresholds are created can make this experience more dignifying. 

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Design as research through module explorations

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Site

819 Beacon Street, Boston, MA

This location provides heavy foot and car traffic, close proximity to medical services (Harvard Vanguard), and it is easily accessible to and from bus and train stops. 

Slide thirty

Shown are the current conditions of the site, it is currently serving as a parking lot that can act as overflow for events happening at Fenway Park

Slide thirty-one

Understanding how one might move through a space proved to be best shown through perspectives. Starting with someone moving through the city, through a threshold leading to a courtyard, and finally to the entrance of a structure. 

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For my last module, I studied scale. this is what The Six, one of the previously mentioned precedent studies, would look like on the proposed site. 

The Six is 82’ x 124’ which is about 10,000 sqft.

For another reference, the existing parking spaces can be seen 

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Design Tests 

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For design test one I focused on the human scale as well as program possibilities. Beginning to understand programmatic needs and using them to create a welcoming courtyard straight off the sidewalk was the goal. Collaging on top of the forms to better represent the concept of mixed-use commercial space and residences with a mix of a representation of the heavy foot traffic present on Beacon Street. 

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Design Test 2 focused further on the transition from street to sidewalk to courtyard spaces to better understand how different thresholds can be effective in different ways

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Design test 3 is when I focused on different works by Steven Holl. Here I analyzed the patio typology. 

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Here I analyzed again works by Steven Holl categorizing them as Marquee’s, Porches, and Gateways 

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With a better understanding of those ideas, I then designed four different thresholds taking the larger ideas as shown before to influence my designs. 

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CRITICAL REFLECTION & PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

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REFLECTION For the spring, the goal is to focus a lot on the pragmatic views of a built space. The goal is also to explore how thresholds link with interior space and how the experience from sidewalk to an individual's bed can be completely transformed into an empowering experience. 

There is also the thought that Living in Plain Sight can become a way for designers to view shelters and how they can be experienced by everyone as to avoid segregating a community away from everyone else. 

From the research that has been conducted, I feel strongly that I can create a well-informed project that adheres to the needs of the unhoused population. 

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PROPOSED NEXT STEPS

Some refinements that could be made could be merging the design tests together to see how the several types of thresholds can be brought together. Another could be to do interviews with individuals who have struggled and might still be struggling with finding housing. 

A module that will be introduced in the advancement of my work could be Light and Materials as well as revisiting Program and Site. Light and materials are something that need to be considered as without this, an uninviting threshold and space could be created. With this module, the criteria for designing a space for all will be clearly laid out for any individual to take into consideration. 

I want to design what home feels like. Home can be so many things such as a smell, a taste, a feeling, and a physical space. Capturing that idea within a design that can be implemented anywhere that fits into the criteria as previously stated is something that I would like to accomplish.

In conclusion, the results of the current state of the research that has been done are that a dignified threshold can be accomplished and is only the first step in designing a space that not only houses the unhoused but welcomes all into the community. 

Slide forty-two

Here is my bibliography

Slide forty-three

Thank you!