ROOM: Digital design to fabrication in temporary accommodation options for youth homelessness

ROOM harnesses digital design to digital fabrication and building optimisation to produce a customised performance-efficient, low cost ‘self-build’ unit - offering training opportunity - in producing external living space as reusable temporary accommodation.

Edited image of the prototype for the Whistler Olympic Athlete Village Bus Shelters
Edited image of the prototype for the Whistler Olympic Athlete Village Bus Shelters.
http://associatedfabrication.com/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

ROOM (Resolve Once – Output Many)

Youth homelessness is a significant issue in Australia. Affordable, user-centred, site responsive, temporary accommodation that permits at-risk youth to remain within their support networks is rare. ROOM harnesses digital design to digital fabrication techniques and building system optimisation to produce a customised performance-efficient and low cost ‘self-build’ independent external living space as reusable temporary accommodation. Permutations for reuse may include postal address provisioning or temporary storage often needed by those experiencing homelessness. The project also seeks to embed training and work experience opportunities for youth through participation in the assembly process and as future training ambassadors as the program develops.

This project seeks to:

  • Investigate scoping opportunities in the use of digital design to digital fabrication techniques in its application to vulnerable sectors of the community, namely youth at-risk of homelessness, in a) diverting pathways to homelessness through low-cost temporary accommodation; and b) provide alternate low-cost and rapid temporary accommodation supply to leverage existing property assets without large capital outlay;
  • Provide temporary independent accommodation for youth to remain within an existing family or support unit and to provide an immediate option in increasing capacity for accommodation services, or offer an alternate accommodation solution within rural communities;
  • Document and analyse low-cost, sustainable and resource-efficient building systems that could contribute to broader industrial output and productivity;
  • Formulate a procedural method that links customisable user and performance-based inputs to digitally enabled and self-build assembly systems;
  • Offer a method for youth empowerment enabled via training opportunities in process participation and develop higher-level skills through train-the-trainer programs.

Project details

Major Sponsor

Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning Research Development Grant – The University of Melbourne

Project Team

Blair Gardiner
Dr Sofia Colabella
Dr Jess Heerde

Contact

Blair Gardiner (University of Melbourne)