Sam Davis Architecture

For the past several years I have been working with non-profit emergency housing and service providers designing shelters and facilities for the homeless. Through my clients I have come to appreciate how much a modest amount of design can do. Often it is merely figuring out the logistics of getting the requisite number of beds in a space. Increasingly, however, design is seen as a means of establishing trust between the provider and the homeless, and a way to create a sense of belonging for those with little or no social connection.

It is within this difficult and often tragic arena that architecture serves its highest purpose. A visit to a museum can be a powerful and moving experience. Public buildings are a reflection of our culture. But if we believe that architecture serves a society as well as reflects its values, then we must provide for those with the most need and the fewest options.

Sam Davis - from
Designing for the Homeless:
Architecture that Works
University of California Press
November, 2004