Newspaper Article

G2: Arts: Architecture: The grow-your-own hostel: Boasting maple floors and individual gardens, this cool modernist building is Britain's first tailor-made homeless hostel. But will it end up being a one-off? Steve Rose reports

Rose, Steve

2009

Overview

The hostel is run by St Mungo's, London's largest charity for homeless people, which houses more than 1,500 people every night. \"The old building was hideous, dark and claustrophobic,\" says architect Peter Barber of the run-down hostel that used to sit on the site in Hither Green. \"It was easy to get lost. You entered these dark, labyrinthine corridors where you didn't know what was around the corner. Some of the people there must have felt isolated. It would be easy to get into the position, if your room was in a far-flung corner, where you'd never come out. So we wondered whether it was possible to design a hostel for 40 people without any corridors.\" This open arrangement serves a security purpose, too. According to St Mungo's, 68% of their residents have alcohol or drug problems, nearly half have mental health issues, and 37% have a history of offending. Things can get volatile in hostels, but less so here, says Tunnicluff. In other hostels, the division between staff and \"clients\", as they are called, is often laid out in adversarial terms, with security doors, protective shutters and hatches through which to communicate. There are no \"them\" and \"us\" barriers here - so far, there has been no need to even close the door to the staff offices. Is there a danger these buildings might discourage people from moving on? \"That's something we're aware of,\" says [Vicky Tunnicliff]. \"But part of the work we're doing is to build up people's confidence and independence. It just makes it a much more supportive environment in which to get people to that point. The fact that people do want their independence is always more of a carrot to move on.\" However attractive the building is, says one resident, \"the problem with hostel life is the people that live in hostels.\" Still, other residents I speak to seem taken with the place. \"I've landed in a bed of roses,\" says one. \"Nice maple floors, matching furniture, my own garden. Anything's better than the other option, but this is the best hostel I've ever seen.\"

• Publisher: Guardian News & Media Limited
• Subject: Barber, Peter