Kenneth Balfelt Team has together with Land+ developed and designed mobile sanctuaries for Odense's vulnerable citizens based on a thorough involvement process.
A mobile shelter is a sanctuary for vulnerable people where the group can sit in shelter and shelter. The users themselves have helped to define what is important in a shelter and have helped to qualify the final design of the shelters. The sanctuaries have both a male and a female urinal. The female urinal is the first permanent one of its kind in Denmark.
The sanctuaries are made up of three modules measuring three by three meters. In the long term, the different modules can be put together in new ways adapted to the surroundings. The shelters are built around several functions: There is a living room where it is warmer and more sheltered, a veranda with a canopy where users can stand and half a module with two types of urinals. There is no water or electricity, so the urinals are flushed by rainwater from the roof. The site is portable and can be moved if needed elsewhere in the city.
The first Pouring Place was completed on Nov. 15, 2014.
The process
The first step in the user involvement was to create an overview of which places drug users and beer drinkers used in Odense. We mapped the characteristics and social dynamics of the different places.
We then began to discuss the design of the specific sanctuaries with the users. We introduced the group to the economics of the project so that together we could get an idea of what could be done within the budget. We showed them photos and discussed values, norms and rules to get closer to the users' values, aesthetics and wishes for functions (seating, activities, toilet, etc.). As the project - like all other projects - had a financial framework that we had to stay within, we worked with the users to prioritize which needs and facilities were most important, second most important, etc.
One of the most important messages from the users was that the shelters should be built from durable materials that cannot burn or otherwise be vulnerable to vandalism.
All information - about values, rules, needs, functions, aesthetics - was gathered together in one program, which we presented to the users so they could correct and qualify our knowledge. Michael Finke from Land+ drew the sanctuaries based on the program, which we presented and
discussed with the users - and again got their feedback. For example, we made one-to-one measurements to get a sense of the physics and size of the sanctuaries and how the two urinals would work.
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