Kenda Blanks
As resources become scarce and social connections become more valuable, collective dwellings have become an increasingly common style of living. This project proposes housing and community spaces for teens and adults “aging out” of the foster care system.
This portion of the site exists in a community that celebrates aging in a multitude of forms. I am focusing on the constituents of aging out teens and young adults. Aging out is when youth between the ages of 18-21 reach the maximum age allowed to be supported by a formal system of care such as foster care. More than 20,000 children age out of the U.S. foster care system every year, and 20% of those children become instantly homeless. This space will encourage independence, found families, and a support system. The spaces will include a place for therapy and job opportunities, scattered and co-living housing with opportunities to personalize their spaces.
This animation explores how architecture can become a site for making and claiming space. The figures move through the space, encountering spatial conditions that help to establish community and form an identity. The purple forms represent the housing and community hubs, and the pink represents possible spaces of personalization and multi-use.