Non-secure Placement (NSP) residents are young people who have committed acts that would have been crimes if they were adults. Our brief asked that we design spaces that teach people and influence their behaviors.

My approach was to create a space that teaches the boundaries and possibilities of freedom in an environment of co-existence. The result is to produce habits that mirror the expectations of everyday life. The system allows residents to configure partitions and create space to their liking. However, as in the larger society, there is a finite amount of resources that is not adequate for the number of inhabitants. This discrepancy promotes the ideology of a shared economy and enables residents to be better prepared for collaborative living and working environments in the future.

This is explained by this scenario: Kevin and Scott are given the task to research and present their findings on local birds. Kevin’s workstation is equipped with a desk, but he was unable to retrieve a task lamp or trash container before they were taken by other residents. Scott has a task lamp and trash container, but no desk. Encouraged by staff, they create a new and better-equipped workstation sharing each other’s components. And Kevin and Scott also realize they had cut their homerwork session in half by working collaboratively. The goal is to teach skills that will help NSP residents integrate into everyday life. The Aux House is meant to function as a life coach.

Faculty for the project:Roman Falcon