Hidden Homelessness

The Hidden Homeless initiative was spearheaded by JMP in 2017 in collaboration with London’s New Horizon Youth Centre (NHYC), a highly regarded day centre for vulnerable young homeless people based in the London Borough of Camden.

The architectural ideas competition was developed in response to London’s spiralling homelessness crisis. Housing and homelessness charity Shelter estimates that as a result of unaffordable rents, frozen housing benefits and severe shortage of social housing, one in 52 Londoners is without a place to call home. But these figures don’t take into account the estimated 400,000 ‘hidden homeless’ in the UK – often young people sleeping in hostels or living in temporary accommodation, sofa surfing or squatting.

A small team originating with John McAslan + Partners, competition organisers Colander and NHYC quickly grew to include policymakers, housing associations, site owners and developers. Early conversations with the Deputy Mayor of London (James Murray), TFL (Graeme Craig), and Pocket Living (Marc Vlessing) further informed the competition brief to ensure that it addressed a wide range of issues affecting homelessness, including planning policy, land values and economic viability.

The competition challenged designers and architects to propose innovative approaches to decent housing for homeless 16–21 year olds on a site near King’s Cross in London. The focus was specifically on creating a short- and medium-term accommodation solution for 28 people to be co-located and funded via either a cultural / commercial component or private housing.

The 47 entries offer a resource of innovative design proposals and business cases that challenge conventional thinking about homeless accommodation. The winning schemes were announced by broadcaster Jon Snow, Patron of the NHYC, in a prize-giving ceremony in October 2018.