Pattern 94: Sleeping in Public

Sleeping in public places takes a lot of trust in your surroundings and other people. The main issue with sleeping in public is that it is generally looked down upon. People compare this behavior to that of a homeless person or of a drunk. However, the reason it is looked down upon is because one doesn't commonly do it. While this may seem like a social pattern, more than an architectural, the way to change this attitude is by providing places where one can feel comfortable sleeping in public. Only by making it normalized can we reclaim is very natural behavior. According to The Pattern Language a comfortable space to sleep is made by creating a location, either on comfortable grass or a bench, away from heavy circulation. Somewhere a little more secluded.

This was one of the main challenges I faced during this project, creating that separation from "public" space and "private" sleeping place. I mostly tackled this by using several heights in my design. My final design does include partition walls and a separate level for sleepers.

My final design allows for that privacy, despite sleeping in a public place by keeping the circulation of people on separate floors.