: 26-YO Indian-Origin Designer’s Foldable Homes Could Be the Answer to Homelessness #IndiaNEWS #Architecture In April 2018, Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, reached out to a number of architecture

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26-YO Indian-Origin Designer’s Foldable Homes Could Be the Answer to Homelessness #IndiaNEWS #Architecture
In April 2018, Eric Garcetti, the Mayor of Los Angeles, reached out to a number of architecture and design schools for guidance in designing bridge housing (a temporary shelter) for homeless people. The mandate was to build structures that felt private and secure, where the homeless could enjoy a sense of community. Responding to this was a team from the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena led by Professor James Meraz, who teaches environmental design there, and Jayati Sinha, who at the time was doing her Masters in environmental design.
“This project was extraordinary and very attractive to me because it was directly transferable to any country in the world that faces some version of homelessness,� says Jayati Sinha, who is currently based in San Francisco, in a conversation with The Better India.
The 26-year-old adds, “I’ve been followed, threatened and taken advantage of by strangers. Even these small experiences instilled so much fear in me. Not having a place to go back to at night must feel immensely vulnerable. Imagine feeling like that every second of every day. People deserve to feel secure and have a safe place. �
There are an estimated 1. 8 million homeless people in India, with 52% based in urban areas. A further 73 million families lack access to decent housing (IGH, 2018; Habitat, 2019). This number is far more serious than the estimated 5,53,742 people in the United States experiencing homelessness on a given night. So, what is the solution they came up with?
Introducing Pop Hut, an easily transportable, foldable and flat packed housing concept featuring a shaded entry, which is intended to give the structure a cosier feeling of coming home.
(Image above of Jayati Sinha and the Pop Hut)
“The Pop Hut has a front door with a keyed lock and a tiny front stoop completed with a motion-activated porch light. Inside the hut, we used colour and transparency as therapeutic tools to make users feel secure and cared for. The interiors also had some open shelving so that the user can customise it with their personal aesthetic and belongings to make it feel like home and for the users to regain a sense of belongingness and foster love for the community The total footprint of the Pop Hut is 5 square meters. So, this is an ideal solution for temporary housing to be provided at construction sites, defence installations and even for slum dwellers. Pop Hut was built for about ,000 (about ₹1. 5 lakh) which could be made even cheaper if made in bulk and using lower cost of materials in India,� she explains.
Being a temporary housing solution, the design focuses on:

Being flat pack for mobility and ease in deployment
Corrugated sheets in the structure to give it strength without making it heavy
Natural ventilation and light
Slanted roof to give more room for solar panels and protect the roof from retaining water
Open wall shelves for users to personalise their house

At this moment this hut prototype is made up of birch plywood, polycarbonate panels (translucent material), aluminium tubes for frames and honeycomb panels for insulation.

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