Furniture and the role of interior designers in ending homelessness

Master’s Thesis - HDK-Valand

To those experiencing long-term homelessness, Housing First programs offer what other solutions don’t: a normal apartment with no strings attached. However, as a decisive and effective method for getting people off the streets, Housing First provides housing, not homes. Turning an apartment into a home is a personal process, and for people that have not had a home for a long time, it can be an immense challenge, filled with loneliness and fear.

During my master’s exam project in 2024 I engaged with three Housing First tenants through the process of designing and making objects for their homes, based on their preferences. Three pieces of furniture were made: a chair, a lamp and a table, all of which now furnish their respective homes in Gothenburg.

The project contemplates the right to adequate housing in relationship to a personal sense of home. In consideration of the impact of interior design and furnishings on wellbeing, security and dignity, it proposes a role for designers within the Housing First model in which they could support tenants in the development of their sense of home.

JAKOB TANGEN

Supine HomenessTime for EverythingT-chairGraceful ReturnKilapsmosHalvöFlygare

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Supine
Homeness
Time for Everything
T-chair
Graceful Return
Kilapsmos
Halvö
Flygare

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