Step(x) Housing:

Details

Step(0)

TEMPORARY
Supportive Housing
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Step(1)

INTERIM
Supportive Housing
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Step(2)

PERMANENT
Supportive Housing
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Step(0): NowHouse

San Francisco Earthquake Cottage

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

The city built over 5,000 tiny, one-room shelters to house those displaced by the 1906 earthquake and fire. These endearing little structures were called Earthquake Cottages and were rapidly deployed in large number on open spaces with the intent they would be moved to permanent locations. Many have survived, are still lived in today, and are cherished by their residents.

While over a century has passed since this historic disaster, the strategies used to tackle this previous housing emergency can very much inform the way we approach our current one. We have designed a contemporary version of the earthquake cottage to address homelessness – we call it the NowHouse.

Step(1)

Interim Supportive Housing
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Project Sites:

Mountain View
0.99 acres
1 story
102 doors
Completed

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Palo Alto
1.44 acres
3 Stories
104 doors
Under construction
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San Jose
2.02 acres
3 tories
188 doors
Under construction

San Mateo
2.52 acres
3 stories
240 doors
Completed
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Kit of Parts:

sl-2-ba

2-Unit Sleeping Module
w/ Private Bathrooms
200 gsf/unit

spt-1
Support Services Module
(1) 0ffice
200 gsf

sl-4

4-Unit Sleeping Module
100 gsf/unit

ts-2

Toilet and Shower Module
(2) toilet rooms
(1) janitor’s Closet

sl-3

3-Unit Sleeping Module
133 gsf/unit

fs-1

Food Service Module

sl-fam

Flexible Back to Back Modules
(2) 400 gsf units with private bathrooms
or (1) 400 gsf unit with private bathrooms + (2) 200 gsf unit with shared bathrooms
or (4) 200 gsf units with shared bathrooms
or (1) 800 gsf unit with (2) private bathrooms

spt-4

Support Services Module
(4) offices
100 gsf/office

ts-4

Toilet and Shower Module
(4) toilet + lavatory compartments
(3) shower stalls

Site Installation:

See San Mateo County Navigation Center

Copyright: Office of Charles F. Bloszies, 2025

Step(2)

Permanent Supportive Housing
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Conventional Modular

Step(2) Modular

Modules:

A

B (same as A, bathroom + kitchen omitted on one side)

Module Combinations:

A =

(2) Studio Units

B+B =

(2) 1-Bedroom Units

B+B+B =

(1) Studio Unit, (1) 1-Bedroom Unit,
(1) 2-Bedroom Unit

The Step(2) basic module can be arrayed in an almost infinite number of configurations and can yield a variety of unit mixes. The three examples here utilize only ONE module with an off-set corridor plus a vertical circulation module, with or without elevators depending on the number of stories.

Option A (6) Studio Units
(2) 1-Bedroom Units
(2) 2-Bedroom Units

Option B
(11) Studio Units
(1) 1-Bedroom Units
(1) 2-Bedroom Units

Option C
(7) Studio Units
(3) 1-Bedroom Units
(1) 2-Bedroom Units

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