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3.7 Parasite Shelter by Michael Rakowitzxi (1997) Design Purpose: Help and protest User: Homeless Location: Cambridge, USA Goal: Built a functional shelter for the homeless of the city as well as a device to protest against authorities willing to make their cities “Homeless-Proof”. They make even more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city. Concept: Michael Rakowitz´s project proposes to take advantage of the exterior ventilation systems on existing architecture to give the homeless a temporary shelter. The deflated structure can be transported easily by hand or on the back on a person. Once the user has laid out the structure and found an outtake ducts of a building’s HVAC system, the user attaches the intake tube of the structure to the vent. The warm air leaving the building inflates and heats the membrane structure.
Figure 3.12: Parasite shelter
The system by which the device attaches or is anchored to the building is designed to allow the structure to be adaptable. The intake tube can be expanded or tightened to fit the aperture of the vent through an adjustable lip made possible by elastic draw-strings. Hooks are attached to the metal louvers for reinforcement. All of the Prototypes which have been distributed were built using temporary materials that were readily available on the streets, such as plastic bags and tape.
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For more information about the project see http://www.michaelrakowitz.com/ (accessed October 17, 2006).