| AWARDS the cause |
Yes, in my backyard
IN RESPONSE TO SEATTLE’S RAPIDLY ESCALATING HOUSING CRISIS, TWO ARCHITECTS ARE WORKING TO FIGHT NIMBYISM AND GIVE THE HOMELESS A PERMANENT ADDRESS. GRAY IS LENDING SUPPORT BY DONATING HALF OF THE TICKET SALE PROCEEDS FROM OUR FIRST ANNUAL AWARDS PARTY TO THE BLOCK PROJECT. Written by RACHEL GALLAHER Portrait by NATE WATTERS
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IT’S RARE FOR AN ARCHITECTURE FIRM TO LEAD WITH ANYTHING OTHER THAN DESIGN, BUT FOR SEATTLE’S BLOCK ARCHITECTS, IT’S EMPATHY THAT POWERS PROJECTS. Founded by Rex Hohlbein and his daughter Jennifer LaFreniere in May 2017, BLOCK Architects, a firm aiming to fight homelessness through community building, is the result of several years of discussion about linking architecture and homelessness. Although it’s not Hohlbein’s first foray into the social justice sphere (he closed his high-end residential architecture firm in 2014 to focus on Facing Homelessness, his nonprofit organization that seeks to debunk adverse stereotypes of people living on the streets), BLOCK Project, the firm’s first endeavor, is the most ambitious to date. “Two of the biggest stumbling blocks to housing are a perceived lack of land and limited dollars,” he says, “but we think that being cut off from the community is a deterrent to people looking to improve their lives. BLOCK Project tackles these issues simultaneously.” The concept is simple: recruit homeowners who are willing to host a 125square-foot tiny house (and a formerly homeless tenant) on their property. The structures are fully self-sufficient, featuring solar panels, a graywater system, and a composting toilet, and they incorporate a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping area, and storage. The hosts and tenants go through a rigorous matching process to ensure that the placement is based on a friendship rather than a transaction. “We want to encourage interaction between the two,” LaFreniere explains, noting that the foremost goal of BLOCK Project is building community. “It’s not about putting down this house and then having everyone go their own way. Building relationships is a crucial first step in folding these people back into the community.” All BLOCK host families receive a monthly stipend; however, all hosts thus far have opted to waive the stipend, choosing to donate the funds back to the project.
So far, BLOCK Project has raised enough money to build four tiny houses. Each costs about $30,000 to construct— the first was installed in the Beacon Hill neighborhood this summer, with two more starting construction before the end of 2017. Turner Construction Company is donating labor to build the initial four, and additional partners include FSi Consulting Engineers, Allworth Design, Swenson Say Fagét, contractor Dick McDonald, the Cloud Room, and other companies that will contribute time, materials, and resources. Currently more than 50 families are interested in hosting a BLOCK house on their properties, and hundreds of individuals are hoping to be housed. LaFreniere says she expects both numbers to grow. “If we put one project on every residential block in the city,” she says, “we could end homelessness in Seattle.” ❈
BLOCK Architects founders Rex Hohlbein and Jennifer LaFreniere, his daughter, in front of the first tiny house built through their nonprofit organization BLOCK Project.