Dan Letson and I entered the CHI 2008 Student Design Competition, the prompt asked us to design for those living without a home. Now we have been invited to Italy to talk about our process and our findings. :)

By spending lots of time in the field with our research we were able to break through our preconceptions and preconcieved notions. We came full circle in our design proposal.

The result is a facility for cleaning oneself and ones clothing. The goal is to diminish the cycles of separation which brew thorugh confrontation with authority when one is caught washing in a semi-public facility. By putting people on a level ground with their human peers we hope to facilitate the transition into accepting aid from ths peer group.

The location of the washroom in a city owned urban location (parking garage?) leverages the economics of 90% simple usage, and 10% complex usage. The money is made back through advertising and the 50cent nominal fee exists so everyone can contribute.