A lockable wardrobe and twin-sized bed figure in this modular sleeping unit, which was conceived by architecture firm Perkins and Will in response to the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles.
The prefabricated Dome unit is meant to offer a heightened level of privacy for people staying in temporary housing facilities. US homeless shelters typically contain rows of beds in open rooms, with limited to no storage space.
The unit was designed by Perkins and Will's LA studio in response to a city initiative called A Bridge Home, which is focused on creating emergency shelter for homeless residents. Launched by LA Mayor Eric Garcetii, the programme describes homelessness as "the greatest moral and humanitarian crisis of our time".
The prefabricated Dome unit is meant to offer a heightened level of privacy for people staying in temporary housing facilities There are nearly 59,000 homeless residents in LA County, with 36,000 of them living within the city of LA, according to a 2019 report.
LA intends to create 1,600 new beds throughout the city, along with replacing many existing beds.  The Dome system responds to "the urgent need for specialised furnishings that can be rapidly deployed at a low cost", said Perkins and Will in a project statement.
The pod is seven feet wide by six feet deep (2.1 metres by 1.8 metres), forming a space that totals 42 square feet (3.9 square metres). Each contains a lockable wardrobe, a standard power outlet, and a frame for a twin ...