Feature Zero Flat is an innovative research project that has completely rethought and redesigned solutions to helping the homeless. The project has used social design to get people off the streets and into safe spaces. Now it is looking to expand to help more people find a way to escape the streets, and to share its learnings through an exhibition.
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RETHINKING HOMELESSNESS Millions of people across Europe are exposed to homelessness every year. According to FEANTSA, the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless, the figure is more than four million. Dr Daniel Cid, Associate Professor of Design Studies at Winchester School of Art, has spent the last five years working with Leve Projects (a Barcelona-based studio) and a homelessness charity on a completely new take on accommodation for people suffering from chronic – or long term – homelessness. The outcome of this work is Zero Flat, a totally different approach to helping 20
homeless people leave the streets. The first Zero Flat has been up and running in Barcelona since 2017 – continuing to operate as a bubble throughout the COVID-19 pandemic – and Daniel and his colleagues have big plans to develop new versions of Zero Flat. A version adapted to the reality of women suffering from homelessness, and bringing Zero Flat to the UK, are among the plans. “My work is in the space between design and social science,” said Daniel. The design of the accommodation is entirely influenced by the topography of the city and a deep understanding of what it means to be chronically homeless. “It’s very well demonstrated through practice and theory that most of the time people
suffering from chronic homelessness reject shelters because they have too many regulations,” he explained. “Someone who has been sleeping on the streets for 15 years is in a loop and cannot leave the streets. Shelters, for example, don’t allow pets, or alcohol, or smoking. At Zero Flat you can drink, although from a glass not a bottle, and you can smoke, and you can bring your pet.” Peek inside Zero Flat Zero Flat is designed to mimic the street in many ways. Daniel explained what you find inside: “A bench, a tree and a fountain are the three elements that compose a typical city square in Mediterranean countries. Inside
