In an effort to combat Los Angeles’ homeless crisis, ULI Los Angeles, a district council of the non-profit Urban Land Institute, is working with Mayor Eric Garcetti to develop an initiative to design and build temporary shelters in all 15 of the city’s districts. Los Angeles Times reporter Doug Smith says the goal is to come up with standard designs that could be placed almost anywhere, but are pleasing enough people would enjoy being in.
The architects were recruited by the nonprofit Urban Land Institute. Working independently, all three teams came up with similar ideas for easing the isolation and regimentation of traditional shelters, where cots are lined end to end in a large building with limited access to the street.
The three designs came out of workshops with the architecture firms DLR Group, Studio One Eleven and JFAK Architects and landscape architecture firms EPT Design, RELM and SWA. They worked with large, steel-ribbed tents, which are relatively inexpensive, come in different sizes and can be quickly set up on vacant land or in a parking lot.
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