You think you’ve been cold this winter? Okay okay, you have been (I wont take that away from you!). But try actually living amidst those harsh winter elements with no heat, no sanctuary, no shelter. It goes beyond the unbearable cold in these situations and enters into life-threatening conditions for so many. In Chicago, where our Director of Design Shelby Girard is based, homeless shelters have been operating at capacity leaving the homeless to fend for themselves per Nicole Cohen of SocialWorker.org. One week in late January, at least 5 homeless people froze to death according to Think Progress. Sadly this is not a one-off story.
Which is why Michael Rakowitz’s latest project is so revolutionary (and the most ingenious design project we’ve learned about to date!).
{Image via Michael Rakowitz}
The artist and activist has designed a series of inflatable, disposable shelters that leverage the excess heat waste emitted from city buildings’ HVAC systems. His prototype was created using other wasted debris including ziplock and garbage bags. His design has since evolved but his commitment to recycling what has been wasted (in this case– heat) to help those in need has not. What do these temporary shelters cost? A mere $5 each– now that’s something.
{Images via Michael Rakowitz}
The daily news site, PSFK (one of our favorites), reported on the invention a couple of weeks ago— their write-up is superb. To learn more, check out the full story at PSFK.
It may seem odd to cover a development of this nature on an interior design blog. But for all the joy we find in beautiful objects, we recognize that we are incredibly lucky to have this place called home, whatever that encompasses, wherever it may be. Read more about how you can prevent unnecessary homeless deaths in the National Coalition for the Homeless’ Winter Services Report.
Alana
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