Up & Out -
Homeless Assistance Shelter
Raising Philadelphia's homeless population to a level of self sufficiency.
A homeless shelter is a place to provide shelter, food, medical service, and most importantly safety. This project is developed around seperating the types of people in the homeless system by men, women, and families. They are placed into towers proportioned by the overall need in the city.
Programs used were AutoCAD, Revit, and Adobe Photoshop.
There are 505 beds in the shelter in addition to a gym area that can be set up as emergency housing if the need arises. The total building is approximately 112,000 square feet with housing elevated above the upper Walnut street level. Supporting community outreach programs and gymnasium area are located at lower 30th and Walnut streets.
The building provides a cafe and flower shop along with a plaza on upper 30th street to allow for community involvement with the center. It provides the residents with a place to generate income. The three towers are arranged as well to create an open courtyard on the lower Walnut street to provide a connection to Penn Park. The towers are also oriented to achieve maximum sun exposure to the lower level.
Rooftop Garden
Worship Space
Piazza View
Cafe/Street Entrance
This homeless shelter focuses on building community by placing the residents in shared rooms and providing common areas to allow for cooking and socializing. As you move up through the building there are more single and double occupancy room which house longer-term residents. The main goal is to give residents shelter while providing medical, social, and educational support and motivation for greater independence and success for life beyond the center.
Mentally Unstable Room
Multiple Resident Room
Single Resident Room
There are three main materials used on the exterior of the building that distinguish the program inside. The three main towers are primarily clad in metal panels with individual vegetable gardens on the roof. This provides longer-term residents the opportunity to develop a skill and pastime and to be able to gerate income in the flower shop on the main level. The exterior horizontal circulation tubes are made of translucent panels to allow in light but to provide a sense of security for those inhabiting them. Public spaces on the lower levels are clad in transparent glass. This transparency helps create more of a social interaction between the public and the residents.
