Privacy, Security and Dignity: POE of Safe Haven Dorm Partition Environment

Abstract

Defensible Space is a seminal text on the relation between urban design and personal safety. It focuses on the importance of territory, boundary and visibility in the design of spaces that are conducive to activity and safe, comfortable inhabitation. Ownership, for Newman, is critical to the success of any space and promotes its care and upkeep. Visibility is the foundation of public safety – to see and be seen. The book explores specific spaces associated with public housing in order to glean conclusions which can be applied to more expansive design conditions. A person's "home base” becomes central to self-image and the basis of territory. But what if the users have no home or home base? This paper presents post occupancy evaluation findings of a homeless shelter dorm station design + build architecture student project completed in December 2012. Fourteen architecture students in a socio-political + design-build studio at Philadelphia University programmed, designed, and prototyped dorm stations for a "safe haven” homeless shelter managed by Project H.O.M.E. in Philadelphia. Project H.O.M.E. fabricated the stations which were then assembled and installed by a team of students, faculty and volunteers. Founded on the belief that architecture can provide for social need, effect behavior and support social change, the studio required the students to complete research on the homeless condition, the social agency and the political context for public services. This paper will touch upon this research as a means of qualifying the solution and POE.The post occupancy evaluation utilized interview, questionnaire, and observation data gathering methodologies. The evaluation involved three primary subject groups including administrators, staff, and residents. Specific dorm station design conditions were addressed including:

• Boundaries in the Definition of Territory
• Personalization and OwnershipVisibility,
• Privacy and Safety