A recent project called ‘Messenger/Receiver House’ developed by Chris Knox, Colm Keller and Bastian Bischoff, students studying on the Master Programme in Design at HDK (The School of Design and Crafts at Göteborg University in Sweden) aimed to collect, distribute and analyse public opinion around factors that concern homelessness and people who are homeless.
Colm has been in touch to ask us to feature it, and we are only too happy to oblige as this project illustrates the way designers from two backgrounds can combine to do something truly unique and eye-catching which can create awareness about a social problem.
On major streets and spaces throughout the city of Gothenburg a number of small brightly coloured houses appeared, featuring provocative statements about homelessness and the homeless. At each house the public were asked to critically respond to these statements with their own messages by writing on the houses using pens provided. The houses also contained lighting which would illuminate a pictogram of a homeless person at night.
The statements, written in both English and Swedish, were created to be deliberately inflammatory so they would receive the strongest possible responses. Featuring statements such as ‘It’s a person’s own fault that they are homeless’, ‘Homeless people don’t deserve sympathy’, ‘Homeless people shouldn’t be helped with public money’ and ‘Most homeless people are addicted to drugs or alcohol’ caused the public to react strongly on one side of each argument or the other.
The team hoped that the project could in some small way help to improve communication between homeless people and people with homes, closing the mental gap that exists between these two groups. By reading other peoples statements it was hoped people may begin to question their own views about homelessness.
