Unit – 3

How can we best create a living space to suit an individual’s needs?

KC - Social systems
RC - Function
GC - Orientation in space and time [Human landscapes and
resources]

SOI – The most important thing about our systems is that they
function correctly, where and when they are needed.

In this unit we will :

o Find out – About the different causes of homelessness

o Explore how – Designs are already making a
difference
o Take action – By designing our own solution
Factual questions :
- What are the problems that homeless people face?
- What existing solutions are there to these problems?
- What things in your own home do you think you could
not be without?
1. Homelessness is one of the major problems faced today. People are left without a home due to a multitude of
reasons, whether it be abandonment or a run away from a past home due to causes like abuse. They are left without
proper money for basic necessities, such as even food and water, or medication for sickness. They are subject to a
great deal of suffering like starvation and infections, which are brutal things no human should face. They are also at
greater risks of being affected by attacks, as they have no shelter. They are often mistreated heavily by people of a
higher class without regard for their situation, even to the point of physical harm, just because they do not have a
home.
2. There are no complete solutions for homelessness and homeless people, although there are ways to help them. There
are multiple organizations and charities dedicated to raising funds to provide homeless people with food, water and
other facilities, and there are also goodwill donations such as money or clothes. Temporary homes can also be built
to aid them, especially during times of disasters.

3. The things in my home that I do not think I could be without are the basic necessities like water (water filter), food
(stoves, microwave), Utensils, rooms (beds cupboards, fans, Acs) furniture, bathrooms (Toilet, tap, shower, soap)
and lights. There are also entertainment related devices such as phones and laptops, and things like novels that I use
for when I need a dose of fun and for educational purposes. Electrical sockets are also necessary for me as they
provide electricity.

Conceptual questions :
- How can you make a functional, but fun, living space?

1. To make a functional but fun living space, I think the designer must focus on basic necessities and add a bit of
playfulness and fun to them; To make a living space fun, most clients have chosen to add colour or decorative items
to already existing objects such as furniture or walls to make the space look lively and ‘fun’. This is why the
designer must first design a layout with functionality and free space, making it possible for the client to customise.
To make it fun the designer can propose colourful or cartoony furniture depending on the client’s taste, and match
the lighting with more illumination and different shapes of lights or adding windows for daylight for liveliness.
Other decorative items can also be added, such as plants, decorative mirrors and colourful curtains to add the aspect
of ‘fun’ in the overall living space.
 Year 3
Subject -
Design
Unit 3 -
Summative

Paper Shelter-Haiti

https://www.architectmagazine.com/project-gallery/paper-shelter-haiti

How can we best create a living space to suit an

individual’s needs?
1. Design situation,

You are entering a competition to create an emergency shelter You can either create a prototype a
scale model or a digital 3D model You can pick from one of the following three categories

1 . Design a shelter for a homeless person who lives in a city. The shelter must be durable but
easy to carry
2. Design a shelter that can be reproduced easily for many people who have lost their homes
during hurricane The materials used should the easily accessible and the structure must be
easy to put together

3. Design an affordable tiny house that a small family could use as temporary accommodation

before finding a more permanent tving solution this could be a family that has been displaced
because of something like a house fee or domestic abuse or it could be for a family living in
inadequate shelter, such as a slum or other makeshift structure. The house must contain all the
amenities a family would need

if possible, choose a design situation that you have some connection to. This could be a situation
relevant to where you live have lived have travelled or where your family live This might even
give you the potential to design for a real client, or to speak to those involved with supporting
these vulnerable people for example, local chanty workers)
 In this summative assessment, as a designer you are required to develop, plan and create a
creative and customized designs/products that is represented correctly. Remember, you will
need to document each stage of the design and create processes, and to complete this task
you have to make sure you fulfill all the components of your summative assessment.

MYP-3 Unit 3 Elements

 Key Concept: Social Systems

 Related Concepts: Function
 Global Context: Orientation in space and time((Human landscapes and resources)
 Statement of Inquiry : The most important thing about our is that they correctly

 ATL Skills: Organization skills ,Information literacy skills ,Critical Thinking skills
Command Terms

Command Term Definition

Analyze Break down in order to bring out the essential elements or structure.(To
identify parts and relationships, and to interpret information to reach
conclusions.)

Create To evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work or an

invention.

Demonstrate Make clear by reasoning or evidence, illustrating with examples or

practical application.

Describe Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or

process.

Develop To improve incrementally, elaborate or expand in detail. Evolve to a

more advanced or effective state.

Evaluate Make an appraisal by weighing up the strengths and limitations.

Explain Give a detailed account including reasons or causes. (See also “Justify”.)

Identify Provide an answer from a number of possibilities. Recognize and state

briefly a distinguishing fact or feature.

Justify Give valid reasons or evidence to support an answer or conclusion. (See

also “Explain”.)

List Give a sequence of brief answers with no explanation.

Outline Give a brief account or summary.

Present Offer for display, observation, examination or consideration.

State Give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or
calculation.
 A Description of Your Grasps Summative Assessment
Designing the product

G Your goal is to conduct thorough research to generate innovative design ideas for a
Protype representing a functional living space for homeless individuals.

R Your role is that of a Social Innovator and Researcher, diving deep into homelessness issues
to develop creative design solutions.

A Your audience consists of fellow students, teachers, and school administrators interested in
socially impactful design solutions and homelessness awareness.

S You find yourself in a situation where You're part of a community initiative striving to
reimagine living conditions for the homeless through research-based innovation.

P the product is customized design that:

Present a researched proposal with sketches and preliminary designs showcasing your
innovative ideas for the Prototype.

S This stands for standardsandcriteriafor success.

Your work will be judged by Criterion A and B.
 Criterion A: Inquiring and analyzing

Strand I: Identify the problem to solve, explain it and justify the need to solve it. You may ask the
following questions to identify a problem from the situation.

THE THREE WHYS

Think of the problem you are solving, then use the three whys to help you explain why -The design situation you picked is
important and why it is worth solving:

 Why might this matter to me?

 Why might it matter to people around me (family, friends, city, nation)?

 Why might it matter to the world?

The problem that is being faced is one of the most important of the world – homelessness. Homelessness is defined as the situation where
a person or even a mass group of people are left without a home or shelter and often have to live out in the open, on the streets. A person
may have become homeless due to a multitude of reasons that eventually led up to them living without a house, forcefully or by choice;
some of the main reasons people are left homeless are due to natural disasters, wars, poverty, abuse and abandonment – Natural disasters
and wars cause a colossal amount of destruction in a huge area, the buildings where people live collapse, causing deaths and homelessness
as the survivors may not have a place to go to, and emergency shelters are often shown to overflow and not have enough accommodations.
People can also lose their home due to their financial situation, where they are simply too poor to continue to afford the services and/or
their home. On the other hand there are also a considerable amount of people who have grown up homeless – children and young people
can be abandoned by their guardians due to reasons that can involve a bad financial situation, no support for raising a child or even an
unwanted pregnancy. A major percentage of homeless people are also teenagers and the youth, and apart from abandonment the other
main reason is abuse – children may grow up in a toxic household with mental and physical abuse or domestic violence, and they can decide
to run away from their past home due to the immense stress, but may find it difficult to find a place to stay, leaving them homeless. These
are one of the most significant global problems faced today, homeless people face one of the most terrible treatments, having no basic
necessities such as even food and water, no security, no healthcare and also a horrible attitude towards them by people who are doing
better, without regard for their situation. A country is required to help its citizens and it is responsible for their well being, as well as see that
their basic human rights are not violated, which being homelessness causes.

As designers, the solution we have come up with is to design a functional shelter for the homeless people in our area and country, so as to
help their situation till they can focus on moving their life forward and get back on their feet, maybe through employment and/or any other
plans they may have had for their future that can now be achieved. We plan to make the shelters more of a temporary stay till they can
move on to a better financial situation, but they will also have fully functional spaces that allow permanent stay as well, though it is not ideal
for them to continue living in the shelters as the area would not be too big.
 Criteria A: Inquiring and Analyzing(i)
ACTIVITY: Homey words!

ATL

■ Organization skills: Use appropriate strategies for organizing complex information

Work as a group to complete this task

1. Write the following words on a piece of paper and cut them all out:

Art, TV, Reading Lamp, Bed, sink, Washing machine, Shower, Toilet, Fridge, Dishwasher, Security
cameras, Couch, Desk, Lamp, Chair, Dining room, Oven, Kettle, remote control, cupboard, spice rack,
pots and pans, cutlery, crockery, stairs, living room, house plants, kitchen, garage, parking space, pantry,
air conditioning, clothes dryer, computer, carpet, windows, clock, table, curtains, bedside table, blanket,
garden, books, bookshelf, trampoline, games console, dining table, photographs, radiators, bedroom, toys

2. Organize the words in any way that you want. You could organize them by room, by type,
by what you have or don't have, or by any other method.

3. Share with the other groups how you organized the words.

4. Now reorganize them from the most important item to the least important item.

5. Share with the other groups how you organized the words

6. Now look again - this time you can only pick three items. Which are the most important to you?

7. Compare and contrast your final three items with the other groups. What similarities and differences did
you notice?

8. Write down your three items - you will need this later in the chapter.
Strand II - Identify and prioritize the primary and secondary research needed to develop a solution to the problem

Note:

Research Research Priority Justification Type of Data – Primary and

Question (1-5) Secondary

Client Needs What are the While designing a Through online sources and survey
items that are 5 shelter one of the responses from my friends and
necessary in most important classmates have all stated almost
house that a things to keep in all the same objects that are
designer can mind are the ‘necessary’ and absolutely
provide? ‘necessary’ items important in a house or a shelter,
that should be and they are bed, toilet, sink,
present in the lights, utensils and cutlery, stove,
house, and how toilet paper, soap and other
they will sanitary products, chairs or
correspond to the stools, charging stations and
client’s needs and dustbins. The items that can be
the overall provided by a designer are beds,
functionality of the toilets, lights, and charging
shelter, while being stations.
able to be provided
easily.
Existing Products How can our It is important when As stated online, the most basic
shelter reach the designing a product things expected of a shelter are
expectations of 3 that is already safety, free accommodation,
shelters that existent to see that good lighting, transportation
already exist? it meets the same services, food, clothing, toiletries,
and above of the charging stations, sleeping
things already arrangements and laundry
expected from facilities. As a designer, we can
products in the past, provide only some of these in the
so that the shelter, such as safety through a
client(s)’s basic private location and a durable
expectations are design, good lighting arrangement,
fulfilled. sleeping arrangement and charging
stations in designated areas.
Materials Will the materials As designers it is an Online sites by builders conclude
that are being 5 important rule that the following as the most durable
used be durable the design we make materials to build a house or a
and last long? should be made shelter : plastic, wood, iron,
with durable cement, concrete, bricks, sand,
materials, and last a aggregates, and steel as they are
good amount of long lasting and sturdy materials,
time, especially for and also the most common and
products like basic materials to use for building
 houses or shelters. a structure.
Skills and Technique What skills and We have to analyze The design principles to follow
techniques are and adapt the skills while designing a shelter are to
required to design 3 and techniques make it safe and resilient, water
and build a required to design a resilient, stable and sturdy, easy
house/shelter? complicated to build and maintain, spacious,
product such as a durable in rough weathers and
shelter, hence the lighted enough. This means the
need to find out designer should be knowledgeable
what skills and in basic building plans and
techniques are structure design, materials that
actually required. are resistant and durable,
placement and connections of
lighting and electrical
components and making realistic
designs.
Environmental How can we A designer should The methods to preventing
Considerations prevent the always make sure environmental harm are :Using
shelter from 3 that their design eco-friendly or durable materials
damaging the should not cause that wont need to be replaced often
environment any harm to the or wont kill off the ecological life
around it? surrounding, which around, choosing a location where
is why we need to there is already land available and
figure out ways to no biological life needs to be
prevent any cleared out, and avoid materials
environmental that release a lot of greenhouse
harm. emission during construction.
Strand III - Analyse a range of existing products that inspire a solution to the problem by using
ACCESS FM Method.

Note: You might analyse other innovative designs. Key words that could be helpful when searching are:
design, competition, shelter, homeless, awards, innovation. You might also want to look up the World
Habitat Awards. It was founded by the UN in 1987, the 'International Year of Shelter for the Homeless'.

You might want to analyse the non-innovative, inadequate shelters that homeless people with a similar
situation to your client are living in. For this, look at the UN's photo library:
www.unmultimedia.org/photo using the key words homeless, shelter, refugee, camp, earthquake,
natural disaster, hurricane.

Product 1 Area Strength Weakness

Existing shelter Aesthetic The aesthetic of this shelter is almost nonexistent, there is no particular
appeal or description of the shelters as they seem to be built in a short
Image 1 - period of time with rough materials.

Image- Link Customer The customers for this product are the homeless citizens in the area of New
United Nations Photo. York city’s lower east side, from cities such as Manhattan.

dam.media.un.org/CS.asp Cost The cost and/or price for building this shelter for the homeless is not
specified or mentioned online, though each shelter can be estimated to be
x? built for around 100$ at the most.
VP3=DamView&VBID=2 Enviornment The shelter seems temporary, so it is Although there are a lot of eco
built with materials that can easily be friendly materials, there are also
AM94S6ST10US&SMLS removed, and more than half of the materials from scarps that are not bio
shelter is built with eco friendly degradable and may cause harm to
=1&RW=1280&RH=595# materials. the surrounding.
Safety The shelters are sturdy enough to last As they are poorly built with weak
/ a short but good amount of time, even materials, they can be destroyed
through rough weathers, and can easily.
DamView&VBID=2AM9
technically be barricaded.
Size The shelters in the image are built for the maximum of 2 individuals, which
leaves them with a lot of extra space for their belongings and free space in
general, where they are not suffocated. But it may be a problem if a bigger
group of people such as a family need to live in the shelters, as they would
have to be crammed in or separated.
Function The shelters in the image provide the The shelters don’t provide a lot of the
basic facilities such as a living area necessities such as toilets, storage
and space to sleep, barricades which space, light, or any good protection
can be used as doors and some from weather conditions.
4S6ST1VKS&PN=1&WS smaller furniture.
Materials The materials used for the shelters are The materials used are only
=SearchResults. good enough to last an adequate moderately sturdy, as most of them
amount of time even if they are can almost be called scraps and other
temporary, and they seem moderately random pieces of building materials,
sturdy with no need of replacement which can cause a collapse.
till a good period of time.
 Product 2 Area Strength Weakness

Existing shelter -2 Aesthetic The shelter is designed neatly and The spaces between beds is not very
with a good plan that makes it seem big, which may cause a problem with
Image 1 - like a good place for residence. privacy issues.

Image- Link Customer The shelter is available for homeless As the shelter is available for every
people of all age, which provides a person no matter things like age or
sense of acceptance and safety for gender, it may cause discomfort to
them, as well as help in initiating some if all are placed in the same
bonds with other people. room and even a hierarchy to form as
people can decide to isolate others at
choice.
Cost The cost and/or price for building this shelter for the homeless is not
specified or mentioned online.

Environment The building is sturdy and stable The foundation of the building may
which won’t cause a collapse and/or have required a clearing out of land,
a need to constantly replace the which may have killed a lot of life. It
materials that harms the also produces smoke emissions
surroundings. through exhausts, and probably
contributes to the waste produced.
Safety The building is well designed to have safety from outside with doors like a
regular house or residence, and also safety from weather conditions
through the thick walls and overall construction of the building.
Size The size of the homeless shelter in the image is very big and spacious, and
also accommodates a large number of people in one area, which provides a
large number of homeless people with a place to live.
Function The shelter serves it’s purpose to The shelter may cause privacy issues
create to a comfortable living space or social misunderstandings as there
for the homeless people – it is well is only one room for a large amount
designed like a house with facilities of people, and it may also cause
such as sleeping arrangements, issues related to space as some people
bathrooms, lighting, food services may require more than what is
and a good environment to live in. available for their belongings.
Materials The shelter is built with good high- The materials used may not be eco-
quality materials such as concrete, friendly and have produced
glass, cement and metal which greenhouse emissions during
makes the shelter sturdy, stable and construction. They will also cause
durable, as well as resistant to water mass damage if the building were to
and rough weather conditions, which collapse.
doesn’t cause the panic of a collapse.
Strand IV - Develop a detailed design brief which summarizes the analysis
of relevant research.

Activity : Design Brief

ATL: ■Communication skills: Paraphrase accurately and concisely

We can use the Global Strategy for Settlement and Shelter principles to help us
design for any homeless person or group of people.
At this point, you probably have some Initial ideas for your shelter. Let's use these
principles to strengthen our initial ideas. Use the prompts below to guide you

 Protection: How can your shelter help keep the client safe?

 Age, gender and diversity, equity, accessibility, access: How can you make
sure your shelter is inclusive, regardless of someone's age, gender, abilities,
languages spoken or other identity indicator.

 Sustainability: How can you make sure you are creating a sustainable
product? Think about how long it needs to be used, the skills needed to build
and repair it, accessibility of materials needed to build and repair it, and how
environmentally friendly it is.

 Community empowerment: How will your product provide dignity to the user?

 Appropriateness and reliability, environment: How will your shelter be

designed for the specific context it will be used in?

Use your answers to these questions, as well as information from your initial
research and analysis of existing objects, to write your design brief

Start your design brief with

• The problem I am trying to solve is......
• The way I will solve it is.........