In a Los Angeles region of ten million people, homelessness increased substantially in 2015 to top 47,000 people. Recognizing that housing for people experiencing homelessness is a major architectural challenge, the American Institute of Architects (Los Angeles Chapter) or AIA|LA chapter recently convened a special congress to discuss the importance of architectural involvement at the very inception of low income housing projects.
Workshops at the congress explored best practices and innovative developments in affordable housing. But the title of the congress, Design for Dignity, emphasized a commitment to focus beyond pragmatic solutions to create buildings and the spaces around them that uplift the human spirit and which affirm the dignity of all human beings, whatever their circumstances.
There is pragmatism behind their lofty ambitions for dignified architecture. Studies have shown that ‘house proud’ knows no economic boundaries, and leads to better care an upkeep by tenants.
Read more at The Architect’s Newspaper: AIA|LA asks “How will design professions respond to the nearly 47,000 homeless people living in L.A. County?”
