"The project was not seen as a solution to the social problem of the homeless but instead as an method of raising awareness about the issue."

Treehugger had a design competition for shelters made from carts and the entries are....well, you decide what they are. I was browsing the comments when I came across this one:

"What a waste of time and energy. We would be better off trying to address the root problems that create homelessness, than to design better ways for them to continue to be homeless."

Indeed. But I would add that while the need for long-term solutions designed to combat the root causes of homelessness are desperately needed, so too are the short-term solutions that keep a person alive day to day until the long-term solutions are put into effect. Furthermore, many of the preventative efforts will not have an impact on those who are already homeless. Therefore, short-term solutions addressing critical essential-needs requirements are desperately needed. Recognize too that this competition, although providing some truly innovative and bitchin shelters, was done primarily to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness on our nation's streets. There's no doubt in my mind that filling Library and Riverfront Park with a variety of these shelters would definitely raise awareness, not to mention a few eyebrows....

Cart and Shelter for the Modern Recycler

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 08.12.08

Design & Architecture (recycled)

Buzz up!

Two years ago we covered DesignBoom's Shelter in a Cart competition, noting that "While it may not be an answer to the problem of homelessness, it certainly raises questions and challenges our ideas. We also are intrigued by ideas for living with less and nobody does so like the homeless. Smart camping equipment manufacturers should look closely."

Now, with the price of metal and new deposit laws, the junk collecting industry has exploded and many homeless people are becoming positively entrepreneurial. Barry Sheehan and Gregor Timlin didn't win the competition with their version of the shelter cart, but built a working model of it. Looking back on the competition in the light of economic changes, it appears that both the competition organizers and the designers who entered were ahead of their time but seriously prescient.

The designer says on his website: "I designed the Shelter Cart in coordination with Barry Sheehan of Sharc Design for the designboom social awareness award 2006.

The aim of the project was to design a tool for a particular group of homeless people who collect bottles from the streets so they can collect a small income from the recycling plants in order to sustain themselves.

The project was not seen as a solution to the social problem of the homeless but instead as an method of raising awareness about the issue." ::Gregor Timlin

I personally still think that one should not have to empty the cart before you can sleep in it, which is why I liked Radu Comsa's design, where the bins kicked out to create a tent-like enclosure. His design also permitted separation of materials. But Gregor's and Barry's is pretty handsome and a lot more effective than a stolen shopping cart. ::Designboom

More from TreeHugger on Peak Metal and recycling Shelter in a Cart Competition Urban Mining: Philadelphia is Losing its Manhole Covers Peak Metal on Planet Green Recycling is Hot Meth Heads Go For Recycling

Shelter in a Cart Competition

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 07.11.06

Design & Architecture (designers)

Buzz up!

We were excited when Designboom announced the Shelter in a Cart competition, to "Design a cart that can provide shelter and storage for the urban homeless" .While it may not be an answer to the problem of homelessness, it certainly raises questions and challenges our ideas. We also are intrigued by ideas for living with less and nobody does so like the homeless. Smart camping equipment manufacturers should look closely.

We were surprised by the winner , panagiotis dramitinos + karaolis alkis + alexandros papageorgiou from greece, (shown above) , finding it less imaginative than most and doubting the viability of the tent and sleeping arrangement. We cannot find jurors' comments so we cannot pass on why it won.

In fact, we liked all of the winners less than some of the honourable mentions.

Radu Comsa of Romania was one of the few that did not make you empty the container to convert it for sleeping; the four rigid and locable containers pop out to create a hard-surfaced and safer sleeping area. We liked the fact that you could separate the things you find from those that you own.

PUMP AND JUMP by jeong-yun heo + Seong-ho, Kim + + Chung, Lee from korea wouldn't last a night on the street but I want one now.

We have a huge aboriginal homeless problem in Toronto; how appropriate for them to live in iglooboxes. We could fill City Hall Square with them. From georgi djongarski from bulgaria.

barbara pitschmann from austria has built the real thing and it works.

"The side-cart bicycle would ease the city-nomads working and broaden their territory." -and it would be great for bicycle touring. from Heino Partanen + Lilli Partanen from finland

asher dunn from usa has designed what could be a big hit- a cross between a boblbee rigid pack and a one-person shelter that would work in a lot of situations. (like after you miss the last train home). Asher, call your patent attorney right now.

Bulgaria. Romania. Korea. Russia. The wonderful thing about Designboom is that it draws the best from around the world in a way few other competitions do. Look at them all, carefully- good design is everywhere now.

krzysztof wodiczko: the homeless vehicle project This vehicle is neither a temporary nor a permanent solution to the housing problem, it articulates the fact that people are compelled to live on the street and that this is unacceptable. Through discussions with those people in new york city, a proposal for a vehicle to be used both for personal shelter and can and bottle collection and storage was developed. an earlier design was shown to potential users and modified according to their criticism and suggestions. it is not put forward as a finished product, ready for use on the streets, it attemps to function as a visual analog to everyday objects of consumption, such as food vendor carts. it bears a resemblance to a weapon, the movement of carts through new york are acts of resistance.