Multi-award winning Architectural Designer James Furzer of Loughton-based Clear
Architects will collaborate with this year’s Grand Designs Live to bring his concepts for ‘Homeless Cabins’ to life.
FRONT VIEW OF CABINS
With around 1100 people sleeping ‘rough’ each night on London’s streets alone, James’s ingenious solution recognises the increasing issue of homelessness in the UK, and the need to provide a safe haven for those with nowhere to sleep. Recent ‘defensive’ architecture aimed at deterring rough sleepers (e.g spikes in building voids and uncomfortable benches), does little to tackle the problem of homeless- ness and simply makes their lives more miserable.
The ‘Homeless Cabin’ has been designed to be used both independently and to form a community of cabins which provide a place of shelter, and safety. Visitors to Grand Designs Live held at the NEC, Birmingham 10-14 October, can view a proto- type shell outside Hall 5 and a further partly constructed cabin within the Grand Theatre which will show the ‘inner workings’ of this potentially life-changing project.
