The housing crisis is affecting everyone in a different way. For some it means cutting back on non-essential spending, for others it can mean the loss of basic shelter.

And even though in this publication we typically use the term “modern house” to describe a particular architectural influence, the term can also take on a more meaningful literal iteration that is relative to a current life situation.

In Los Angeles a media executive by the name of Peter Samuelson started to count the number of homeless people on his bicycle route from Westwood in Los Angeles to the beach in Santa Monica. Then he decided to do something about it! And this is where a man of means, a couple of student designers in college, and LA’s homeless population all collide.

Samuelson sponsored a design competition at the Pasadena Art Center College of Design which invited students to come up with a portable shelter that could not only provide a safe independent place to sleep but also aid the homeless in their principal source of income – recycling.

Proving that great design can be both important and life-changing in any context, designers Eric Lindeman and Jason Zasa who won the competition continue to work pro bono for the resulting non-profit, EDAR (Everyone Deserves A Roof). The organization relying on public contributions now gives an EDAR unit free-of-charge to LA’s homeless.

While EDAR doesn’t claim this to be a long-term solution it’s easy to conclude that it’s appreciably better than doing nothing. The fact that each EDAR unit represents a “modern house” design which has been well executed at the most rudimentary level brings to light that what we build and how we build it can have a major impact on everyone from top to bottom.

To learn more visit EDAR. To contribute go here.