HOUSELESS Exhibit

Project Information

The Center for Public Interest Design partnered with PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC) and the Anchorage Museum on the exhibit Houseless, which explores ways in which design can contribute to solutions to houselessness.

Design thinking helps break down complex problems and integrate new information and opinions, while acknowledging there is no one right answer. The Houseless project provides a space for awareness, education, and creative problem-solving around housing security in the Anchorage community and around the country. It supports individuals and communities in problem-solving together.

Houseless brings together the National Building Museum’s exhibition Evicted, a presentation of the POD initiative from Portland State University’s Center for Public Interest Design (CPID), new visions for alternative shelter by the CPID and Anchorage designers through the What If? exhibit, and WE ARE ALL HOMELESS, a long-term project by designer Willie Baronet.

Houseless includes an overview of the CPID’s POD initiative, including components of two micro-dwelling prototypes (one designed by SRG Partnership and another by PSU School of Architecture students). What If showcases how the design process and design thinking helps visualize possible solutions for the future. To address houselessness in our society, local designers and Portland State University architecture students present various perspectives, from healing to emergency response, by incorporating the realities of today with the aspirations of tomorrow. Visitors are encouraged to input their own versions of “What if…” solutions, which are collected and added to a growing wall of community solutions.