London, UK

Shelter From The Storm

Shelter from the Storm (SFTS) is a London based homeless shelter that provides 42 beds, freshly cooked food and holistic support to its guests to help them reintegrate back into society.

The café has a large and open frontage, the shelter entrance is intended to be private and familiar, identifiable by a homely red front door. Upon arrival, guests are greeted with an entrance space that is domestic in scale with a smaller private room directly adjacent if needing to compose themselves before entering the shelter. As you move through the shelter, the scale of each space slowly increases, aiding a smooth transition to the open kitchen and dining area.

Throughout the project, each detail  was carefully considered  ensuring robustness as well as dignity and a sense of ownership for the guests. Bedrooms and bathrooms are based upon typical domestic typologies. For example, sinks and mirrors are separate providing guests with something of their own within a communal space.

An essential part of our undertaking was to understand and  respond to preconceived ideas around homelessness and the homeless. Our approach to this was to embed the idea of transparency into the scheme. This was achieved through the insertion of new windows and internal openings that allow views in, out and through the space. Similarly, the dual use of the shelter as a community café aims to open up the shelter to the wider community. By inviting the general public into the shelter, they are simultaneously invited into the debate about how to demystify homelessness.

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