Archinect - News

Giving Shelter; A conversation with Sofia Borges & R. Scott Mitchell about architecture's potential to house us all

2019-11-28T12:02:00-05:00

On this installment of Archinect Sessions, we’re sharing a conversation I had a couple of months ago with Sofia Borges and R. Scott Mitchell, the leaders of a design-build studio at USC that addressed one of the most pressing issues in Los Angeles today—homelessness.

The MADWORKSHOP Homeless Studio set out with the goal of addressing this city-wide crisis by developing a real-world architectural response. The initial motivation for the studio came from the founders of MADWORKSHOP, Mary and David Martin, who reached out to USC School of Architecture with the hope that the students would be able to come up with some practical, creative and buildable solutions of homelessness in Los Angeles. You can learn more about the studio in this feature we have previously published. Since the completion of the studio they have produced a book documenting the process and results in "Give Me Shelter." The book is currently available for purchase from ORO, the publisher, or on Amazon.

Our conversa...

MADWORKSHOP fellows reimagine the emergency shelter for disasters

2018-05-08T14:37:00-04:00

Through a plethora of over-designed shelters, interventions, and temporary housing prototypes, professional architecture has attempted to pick up on issues of global mass displacement. Despite the endless stream of projects of this nature, little has changed and cots in gymnasiums remain the standard, insufficient approach in times of need.

Addressing this issue, Shelter Squared is meant to offer a different design-oriented solution to emergencies. Designed by Jeremy Carman and Jayson Champlain, two of MADWORKSHOP's 2017 fellows, the flat-packed, approximately mattress-sized shelter takes less than fifteen minutes to assemble, and can be stored on-site making it immediately available in any scenario.

The units are constructed with lightweight, waterproof panels for easy maintenance and use velcro connections to ensure simplicity of assembly. Each unit provides an operable fabric enclosure, clean floor, roomy sleeping quarters, lockable...

MADWORKSHOP announces open call for 2017 fellowships

2017-03-14T14:01:00-04:00

The Martin Architecture and Design Workshop, aka MADWORKSHOP, has announced an open call for 2017 design fellowships. The proposals should comprise “innovative and life-saving design solutions in the areas of product and fashion design”. Specifically, projects should address either the ‘emergency kit’ (for earthquakes, floods, fires, etc.) or extreme weather, or disaster situation, apparel. Each selected fellow will receive a grant of $5,000 to prototype their idea.

The call is part of MADWORKSHOP’s 2017 design theme, Emergency Architecture. “In an era of increased environmental and political uncertainty, creative responses from designers has never been more important,” they write.

If you’re an East Coast applicant, you’ll have the chance to work with renowned industrial designer Carl Magnusson and the editor and entrepreneur Barbara Heizer. If you’re on the West Coast, you could work with Karen Hoffman from Art Center, Frank Novak from Modernica, Edie Cohen from Interior Design Magaz...