2018 AIA Film Challenge Finalist // The BLOCK Project
There are people at work building community in Seattle and I wanted to make sure the team behind the BLOCK Project was recognized both locally and nationally.
The BLOCK Project invites community into the task of ending homelessness by placing a BLOCK Home in the backyard of one single-family lot on every residentially zoned block within the City of Seattle. Each 125 sq ft home is beautifully designed to be off-grid, self-sufficient, and amenity-rich (featuring a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping area, solar-panels, greywater system, composting toilet, etc.).
The BLOCK Project represents an innovative leap forward on the issues of homelessness, cross-class integration, social inclusion, and architectural design. The BLOCK Project is a housing initiative and a community building project. Through its integrated design, this project will not only offer opportunities for healing and advancement to those formerly living on the fringes of society, but it will also bring connection, relationship, and compassion to the center of our lives and communities. Many social injustices, including homelessness, are perpetuated through emotional and physical separation, which allows us to get stuck on the complexity of the issue. By literally saying, “Yes, in my backyard”, we will begin to see the person afflicted by the issue. We believe this will nurture the empathy needed to catalyze a global movement.
Made in Partnership with: Facing Homelessness & BLOCK Architects
This piece was created as part of the 2018 AIA Film Challenge highlighting Architects at work in their communities.