Date of Award
Spring 6-1-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master in Interior Architecture [Adaptive Reuse]
Department
Interior Architecture
First Advisor
Jonathan Bell
Second Advisor
Jeffrey Katz
Third Advisor
Jehanzeb Shoaib
Abstract
Massachusetts is the only state in the United States with a right-to-shelter law which guarantees shelter for families with children and pregnant women.1 As of February 2024, 3,500 homeless families with children are being sheltered in a motel or hotel with an average length of stay of 14 months, because traditional family shelters have reached capacity.2,3 While these families are provided temporary shelter, these shelters do not allow for the development of a true sense of “home.” While a motel meets the needs of rudimentary shelter, motels were never designed as long-term accommodations and certainly not with a child’s experience in mind. Through historical research on motels, analysis of design precedents and literature, field work, and design interventions, this thesis argues that children’s experiences within temporary shelter spaces needs to be considered and more empathetically designed for. To demonstrate this I designed Wiggle Room, an object that facilitates a child “making room” for themselves within the temporary space of a motel shelter. Importantly, this thesis shows how designers can work alongside social workers, nonprofits, and governments to center children within spaces that typically inhibit a child’s agency and sense of safety.
1. Samantha J. Gross and Mike Damiano, “‘right-to-Shelter’ Law Is Unique to Massachusetts. It Has a Long History. - The Boston Globe,” BostonGlobe.com, August 9, 2023, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/08/metro/shelter-law-1983-massachusetts-homeless-dukakis-healey/.
2. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Emergency Assistance (EA) Family Shelter Resources and Data, (Massachusetts: Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 2024), https://www.mass.gov/info-details/the-rehousing-data-collective-public-dashboard
3. Gabrielle Emanuel. “As Need for Emergency Shelters in Mass. Spikes, So Do Costs.” WBUR, October 2, 2023.
Recommended Citation
Strompf, Rachel, "Making Room" (2024). Masters Theses. 1326.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1326
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Furniture Design Commons, Interior Architecture Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, Social Welfare Commons, Social Work Commons