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Caring Rooms: Towards an Architecture of Interdependent Care for Women Experiencing Homelessness

Part 2 Project 2024
Mathilde Marest
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Santiago | Chile
This project proposes a residential building for pregnant women experiencing homelessness in Santiago de Chile. It presents an alternative to existing architecture for people experiencing homelessness, which is mostly characterised by buildings that are spatially isolated from their surroundings (charity responses), corridors and programmatic hierarchies (biopolitical approach) and individualistic cells (universalist designs). The project is based on three alternative principles developed from theoretical research: at the urban level, networks of care, which allow the new building to be integrated into the existing neighbourhood through shared care services; at the building level, the matrix of interconnected spaces, which establishes relationships between residents and promotes interdependence; and at the user level, spaces of testimony, which are multifunctional and yet meet the specific needs of homeless pregnant women. The design ideas are based on a methodology developed during the research phase entitled 'Testimony Walks' with Anacarla and Ana Nicole, two women who have experienced at least one pregnancy on the streets of Santiago de Chile.
Mathilde Marest

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2024
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