Appendix 3
Kenneth A. Ballard
January 28, 2008
Program Entry: January, 2007
Rethinking Homeless Living:
...establish a (self -built) community-based living facility where people living on the streets can have their basic needs met in a stable, sanitary environment free of violence, drugs and alcohol until they are able to access (traditional) housing. ~ Dignity Village
Thesis Abstract:
The highest concentration of the Las Vegas homeless community is in our downtown district where the Mayor and city council has made a clear and focused effort to not only revitalize downtown and attract tourists, new business but to eliminate a large number of its citizens. Within a 4 mile radius of the core of downtown are 5 shelters. These shelters set out to provide the basic of basic needs... shelter for the night, a hot dinner and assistance to contact other social services. This type of “assisting” the homeless in Las Vegas follows the same format as most of the nation and our homeless community is viewed and assessed in the same manner as those in Los Angles or Miami. Simply to offer an over crowded, under funded, ‘night’ stay only facility is not a ‘be all, end all’ solution to providing housing for the homeless community. A successful homeless community within the Portland, Oregon area has provided an ownership based- model that is self-owned, self-built, self-sustaining, self-governed and relies upon its citizens for the means and methods for continued growth. This ownership based model does not look at the number of people served in a day, week, month but the number of people that have been re-integrated back into the main-stream community.
Thesis Statement:
In the city of Las Vegas there is an estimated 14,500 people within the homeless population. Nevada is the second fastest-growing state in the nation, the promise of steady work to sustain the casino industry and the booming construction industry has enticed thousands of new residents each month for the past several years. Although Las Vegas is proud of its low unemployment rates, no state income tax and inexpensive bountiful food buffets there is an alarming amount of homeless, the staggering 14,500 homeless equates to nearly all of the 0.68% of Nevadans who are homeless; ranking the highest in the US and more than double the national average.
Statistics support that although the Las Vegas homeless population percentage is more than double the national average, the homeless of Las Vegas have suffered from economical hard times, slowing of the housing market, and diminishing low-rent housing. A recent survey indicated that 16 percent of the homeless population are employed, 25 percent are veterans, 31 percent are disabled 33 percent have made Las Vegas their home for over a decade and at least 73 percent have, at a minimum, a high school education.
I will evaluate how and why a self-built, self-owned homeless community can better serve the downtown Las Vegas homeless community and lessen the financial impact to the city as well as influence the stigma surrounding the homeless community...
Framing the Thesis:
- How is the work situated in terms of historical, social or cultural context?
- Main stream perception of the homeless not wanting to be more than they have become.
- What about this type of community can change the design and function of tradition shelters?
- To what other disciplines other than architecture and design am I looking at during the thesis and research?
- Non architectural/design topics
- Alternative education models that surround themselves in ownership
- The principles of Hassan Fathy providing affordable housing built and maintained by the user (community).
- Applying principles of developing other traditional transitional housing for a mainstream social issue (AA, battered women, foster homes)
- Architectural lessons from non architectural
- Principles of the room/school layouts
- Economical and environmental benefits to a self-built housing/community
- What aspects of the traditional architecture can influence the non-traditional aspects of the self-built housing/community
- How do I see my thesis on terms of its relationship to practice, where practice is understood as a culturally suited activity?
- How can the architect as a planner have a positive impact on a community where the two typically do not have common interaction?
- Who is the audience...
- The city planners of Las Vegas
- The homeless
- The shelters for the homeless
- Other architects and public figures
Methods of Inquiry:
- Design Inspiration:
- materiality
- earth material housing
- alternate construction (materials)
- Case studies of several established self sustained homeless communities, primarily Dignity Village.
- Do the “proposals to provide” fit within the Las Vegas culture and expectations of the homeless?
- Are the needs, standards and guidelines universal to all homeless or are there special considerations to be aware of?
- What makes the Portland model successful?
- Interview the homeless both in and out of shelters.
- What aspects of a shelter is a turn off.
- How can a sense of ownership define a space?
Building Program:
- Examine the methods, aspects, and planning techniques of Hassan Fathy and how they can be implemented/adapted to an American homeless culture?
- Identify local resources
- Adapt Fathy’s ideas and techniques to locally available resources and materials
- Identify where the principles of Fathy’s design, material selection, and overall attitude for providing architecture for the poor is successful.
- Examine the role of the Architect during the planning and oversight of developing a community master plan.
- Why the architect should be a voice of advocacy for the development of a “self-built” homeless community... ensuring acceptable, safe, pleasing and sustainable architecture
- Identify access to the bus system, social services (health, job placement, community centers), on site gardening/food source, storage, waste removal, infrastructure...
- Cost analysis for the construction of a shelter and operating costs vs. a self-sustaining, self built “shelter” by the homeless.
Technical Issues:
- How does the infrastructure work?
- sanitation
- water
- air-condition
- food source
- Cost analysis for the construction of a shelter and operating costs vs. a self-sustaining, self built “shelter” by the homeless.
Location of Site:
- How can the potential cost of a site be offset by other funding that is currently in place?
- Identify what aspects of site location would best suit the community at large, the city, local business and the homeless possible site locations
- Downtown area near Bonanza and the Spaghetti bowl (I-15 and I-95)
- Owner: Mesquite Partners, LTD
- Size: 5.78 acres
- Zoned: M (Industrial)
- Industrial area just North of Downtown near Losee and Lake Mead along I-15
- Owner - City of North Las Vegas
- Size: 6 acres
- Zoned: FWY
Public Policy:
- How does rethinking homeless living ...?
- Impact the tourist experience
- Cost reduction implications of security personal
- Will public parks be reopened
- Reverse/abandon the ‘no feed law’
- Rethink sense of ownership
- Rethink sense of community (reunite the community as a whole)
- Rethink affordable housing
- Rethink basic needs
- Rethink social programs
Theory:
- What is needed for basic survival?
- Rethink basic needs
- Rethink social programs
- Rethink affordable housing
Terms of Criticism:
- Have the core principles of creating space: spatial relationships, density, sense of security, etc been translated into terms that can relate to the homeless community in materials that are available to create a self-built, self-owned community.
- Does the dependable source of infrastructure translate into communal living and established a means and and methods for self growth?
- Have I identified a source of materials and delivered a method for acquiring and distributions.
- Have I developed a root for which growth and development can be centralized and/or be adapted for resident turnover?
Schedule:
Research -
Precedent #2 - Habitat comfortable completed by Feb. 3rd
- explore and define density and small spaces
Precedent #2 - Taliesin West comfortable completed by Feb. 12th
- planned trip to Taliesin West on the weekend of Feb. 9&10
- explore 'tent city' built to suit the residents and how they achieved architectural languages appropriate to them
Research Topic-1 - Principles of Hassan Fathy 'Architecture for the Poor' comfortable completion by Feb. 18th
- translate these principles into a language that will be common and specific to the homeless community in the Las Vegas area
Research Topic-2 - terms of 'Defensible space' comfortable completion by Feb. 22th
- explore the ideas and principle behind defensible space and how to translate a defensible space in a community where a sense ownership needs to be cultivated.
Research Topic-3 - Construct-ability for the non-skilled - comfortable completion by March 2nd
- Looking for areas of interest that can help inform means and methods...????
- explore design criteria for types of material
- defining a methodology for process and efficiency
Site Analysis and Design - location, location, location comfortable completion by March 9th
- develop the methods and rules for selection the site
- infrastructure
- access
- surrounding use type
Community locations - comfortable completion by March 17th
- debate the pros and cons to the site and identify the noteworthy attributes that are the most desirable for a site that will be self-built, self-owned and self-maintained by a community of homeless residents...
- note what can be accepted by the city and surrounding community (business, industrial, etc)
Selection of site and identify additional 'growth' sites - comfortable completion by March 23rd
- describe how the selected site meets all the criteria
- pronounce the 'special' areas that afford the greatest success for this type of community
Sketch problem:
see previous material posted (emailed)
Local Resources Persons:
Client - I have yet to establish recent communication with this person, but I have had previous experience with this individual in the past. I have ran past this idea of a self-build, self-owned homeless community with her and received interest surrounding this topic. I will let you know when I have been able to successfully speak with her.
Expert Resource Consultant - Ron Mariano and Ren Richins are principals in engineering offices that my office routinely work with.
Ron is a LEED certified engineer that is interested in sustainable architecture both from a systems viewpoint and a materiality aspect of recycling construction waste to a constructable material. Comfort Engineers - 702.367-0892.
Ren Richens operates a successful civil engineering firm that is interested in providing the most economical solutions for our clients in a manner that is both beneficial to the client and municipality. Ren has provided insightful solutions to infrastructure nightmares. JHR and Associates - 876-2341
