Date of Submission
Spring 5-9-2023
Degree Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Architecture
Department
Architecture
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Ameen Farooq
Abstract
What do you value most? Security or comfort? Could you choose only one? This is the daily dilemma for women and children trapped in violence and trafficking. They have a greater disposition to being re-trafficked or abused if they are unsheltered. Often, people within this group have been cut off from their friends and families, meaning they have no access to food, shelter, or finances. They need a place that can provide safety and security along with a support system for a fresh start.
This thesis project aims to explore the socio-spatial dilemma and stigma of distressed and homeless women and children. This project is intended to be more than a homeless shelter, more so like a life rehabilitation complex. There are various stages within the complex that cater to specific types of needs including emergency and short-term housing, first aid, psychosocial skill-building, and social services based on their individual needs. Emphasizing the importance of the factors that lead to homelessness, each participant will have the opportunity to utilize different areas of this rehabilitation complex where architecture is a spatial facilitator. They have the means to determine how their socio-spatial journey would benefit them most.