To improve sleeping provisions at the Salvation Army Night Shelter, I designed and installed 18 homeless pods.

 

The idea for these pods came from an existing, larger pod designed by Reed Watts architects which is intended to be downloaded and CNC-cut from plywood sheets, but the Ilford shelter that I volunteer at is not big enough to accommodate such a generous design.

​

Reed Watts generously allowed me to access their design to make adjustments. Tinkering quickly turned into a redesign. Keeping the connection details – meaning the beds can still be built using only a mallet – I reduced the dimensions and added storage, shelving, a bedside table, and a plaque where guests could write their name. It’s about giving more privacy, dignity, comfort, a sense of defensible space to the guests.​

​

Once the pieces were locally CNC cut by Cut and Construct, with the help of volunteers from the shelter including a homeless guest, we built the 18 pods in just 4 hours.

​

I continue to volunteer at the night shelter, allowing me to quietly see how the pods are being used. I had to make the pod low in height for security issues, but the low height of the structures has brought additional benefit creating communal boundaries that guests could lean over and chat together, reminiscent of a garden fence.

 

I want to continue to work in a way that ‘explicitly acknowledges the contribution of others, and with this dismisses the notion of expert authorship that the profession still cling to’[1]. Although this design is not currently open-source due to patent issues with the original architects, I am in the process of a re-design which will more than half the cutting costs. Once the design is complete I intend to make it open-source. 

 

A special thank you to John Clifton and Cedric Lungiambudi for all the organization they put into getting the shelter ready for the pods, and another thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors who made this possible.