Despite the biting cold, many homeless are hesitant to head to shelters, fearing the rampant violence and disease in these homes more than the freezing temperatures outside. Resorting to creative means of survival is therefore a necessity, and perhaps one of the more creative solutions is being offered by artist Michael Rakowitz. The artist's deceptively cute inflatable structures, called paraSITE, are actually guerrilla shelters that symbiotically latch onto vents from HVAC systems. The captured air not only gives structure to the shelters, but also provides much-needed heat to those living within. Rakowitz has been making these ad-hoc homes for the past 17 years, customizing designs for the urban nomads he meets in myriad cities. All images via FastCo.Exist. Costing no more than five dollars each, the structures are constructed from plastic attached with tape or heat sealer. Although the original designs were created from black garbage bags, the homeless voiced concern over safety due to lack of visibility, and so a more transparent plastic, often reclaimed from Ziploc bags, is now used instead. The "built-to-code" inflatable sleeping bag for the New York streets. “A ...
Despite the biting cold, many homeless are hesitant to head to shelters, fearing the rampant violence and disease in these homes more than the freezing temperatures outside. Resorting to creative means of survival is therefore a necessity, and perhaps one of the more creative solutions is being offered by artist Michael Rakowitz. The artist's deceptively cute inflatable structures, called paraSITE, are actually guerrilla shelters that symbiotically latch onto vents from HVAC systems. The captured air not only gives structure to the shelters, but also provides much-needed heat to those living within. Rakowitz has been making these ad-hoc homes for the past 17 years, customizing designs for the urban nomads he meets in myriad cities. All images via FastCo.Exist. Costing no more than five dollars each, the structures are constructed from plastic attached with tape or heat sealer. Although the original designs were created from black garbage bags, the homeless voiced concern over safety due to lack of visibility, and so a more transparent plastic, often reclaimed from Ziploc bags, is now used instead. The "built-to-code" inflatable sleeping bag for the New York streets. “A ...