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Homeless Homed: A Newtown Project

Part 2 Project 2015
Jason Chern Shuer Goh
University of New South Wales | Australia
Homeless Homed is a proposal that addresses the pressing issue of homelessness in Newtown, a thriving suburb 5km south-west of Sydney CBD, by adaptively repurposing a former tram shed, bringing together long-term affordable housing and a range of integrated support services under one roof.

The project recognizes that the mere provision of such facilities will not ameliorate the relentless injustices to which many victims are subject. Social integration is key and this can be attained through an open, inclusive, city-like development. The lower section of the shed is first made permeable, followed by the insertion of transparent volumes housing educational, recreational and contextually relevant employment programs (i.e. a bike centre, eatery and reuse shop). Useful negative spaces in between these volumes relate to the fine-grained urban fabric of Newtown and offer opportunities for activity spillage and informal interactions. Atop this well-ordered city-like ground level is a neighbourhood of 22 homes, supporting a range of tenants until they are ready for independent living.

Homeless Homed is ultimately a reintegration project: one that seeks to reintegrate a forgotten building and unseen victims of homelessness back into the urban and social fabric of the city.


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2015
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