Architecture - Masters

Heal the Homeless

Heal the Homeless is an Urban Commons project which aims to help homeless people by addressing their mental health issues. As part of the initiative, this building will act as a first point of contact for the homeless, and through providing support, companionship and consultation, help those who suffer from mental illness move forward through to the next stages of therapy and recovery through providing services such as consultation, workshops and other amenities.

Yu Chia Lim

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concept

The Heal the Homeless initiative comprises of three main stages:

Support, Therapy and Recovery

This initiative intends to create a support group or system that reaches out to people with mental health issues because simply providing these people with temporary housing will not be a long-term solution if they do not receive adequate support and mental health services along the way.

site

My chosen site is 109 Roma St located within the Roma Street Precinct which is also as part of the Emma Miller Place. Emma Miller place is known for its social significance, being a place of protest and demonstration but it also is known to have had homeless services such as food trucks providing food for the homeless located there. Its proximity to the CBD and transportation hubs such as the Roma Street Station makes it highly accessible to everyone.

design development

The development of the building form is closely linked to site characteristics and the main concept of Heal the homeless. From the massing diagrams we can see how site access, trees, and sun path has affected the building design through motions of rounding the edges, creating pockets of space for trees on site. In terms of site access, the main access points are from Roma street itself and Emma Miller Place, this is why the entrance is placed along Roma Street. On the other hand the wooden louvers for shading where parts of the building have glazing, to reduce passive heat gain.

The building programme is mainly influenced by a public to private hierarchy because of the nature of the building. To welcome public users, most public amenities will be located in the ground floor such as the library and the dining area. The consultation spaces are located across three floors with different purposes.

plans

sections

RENDERS

EXTERIOR

INTERIOR

As part of the digital narrative technology, a 360 panoramic view of the interior has been created to help people understand the building better without having to physically visit it.

360 panorama view

Yu Chia Lim

A QUT masters of architecture student who is interested in designing buildings that addresses relationships between people, culture and environments.