Phoebe Imogen Mendel

Domestic abuse is not a personal matter but rather a societal problem enabled by secluding the affected from the community. Case studies from the Netherlands show that shelters for the abused in visible and accessible settings, located in city centres reduce the likelihood of the abused going back to the abuser by half, compared to regular shelters. (Approximately 40% return to their abusers from centres that are concealed compared to 19% from centres that are more visible)

Having an open and accessible space included in society to turn to for help has several benefits: it raises the communities awareness of the problem, which thereby helps break the taboo around the topic, and it makes ‚help‘ more accessible and thus less intimidating. It allows the abused to stay close to their environment and social network, which is crucial for the healing process.

The design is divided into three intertwining parts, awareness, healing, and respite, that aim to target a different part of the rehabilitation process. The respite is used as a safe space to live for the female survivors. It contains of 3 floors, each of which provides a shared kitchen, shared living room, and six en suite bedrooms. Located in the heart of the building the shelter makes a statement: we are not looking away, domestic abuse exists and we are here to help. Furthermore, every floor has a different communal area for shared space: a gym, a creative space, and child care. The space for healing incorporates a neutral ground to welcome family and friends as well as an emergency night stay and therapy for the residents. Raising awareness is the main aim of the café, but it also provides jobs to the residents to ensure financial independence, one of the main reasons of abuse returning to the abuser. It is located at the top of the building, cantilevering over the existing making the bold cafe stand out and visible.

„Sometimes the bathroom was the only place to find some peace.“ - shelter resident

But why is this, why does the bathroom make us feel at ease? It may be the scale of the space. It may be the materials contrasting between hard and cold tiles and soft and warming towels. It may be the fact that it has a lock and is the only place in the context of the home that is normalized for being locked. Understanding the importance of this space for the affected women the shelter is inspired by the bathroom, using materials such as terry cloth, ceramic glazed tiles, and water pipes.

Each resident gets their own room with an en suite bathroom, which is the first thing you will see when entering the room, the bathroom – your safe space. The bed is located above the bathroom to gain a nice view of the outside as well as providing the bed to be as far away from the door as possible. Furthermore, the bathroom in a social environment is used as a retreat to let out emotions and to cry. To symbolize that the issue is shared and no one will have to cry alone a social area is created outside of the bedrooms with a sink for each woman, to share experiences and emotions, to empower. 

A main issue that allows domestic abuse to take place in our society is that people simply do not know they are being abused. The Harts lost their mother to the abusive father and stated that they in fact were not aware that the father was dangerous as he had never gotten physically abusive. Yes, he was controlling, and yes he insulted her, but he never hit her. So how can we use design to educate? People do not like being lectured, so the aim of the café is to raise awareness of domestic abuse without being too obvious and lecturing. The café utilizes typical references to British homes such as wall moldings and bathroom identities in an abstract way to subtly imply the topic and set the scene. When entering the café the first thing that catches the eye is a wall mural consisting of 365 tiles, of which a third is broken - symbolizing every third day that a woman is killed by her partner in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, two different steel chairs were designed, one showcasing the safety and comfort of the bathroom by using terry cloth as the seating and tubular steel for the structure, the other made completely of cold and hard steel showcasing the uncomfortable truth. These chairs have been distributed in a ratio of 8:1 in the café showing that every eighth woman will be affected by domestic abuse in her lifetime.

This stool explores the combination of contrary geometric shapes in the form of a square and a circle and uses the tension in their design vocabulary to create an interesting art piece. While the square seat feels hard and uncomfortable the circular backrest seems to provide safety and protection. This mild steel stool has a profound focus on details such as a custom-designed perforated metal seating to match the overall design aesthetic.