Bridge Memorial Arch

Project Overview

In Fall 2024, I participated in a collaborative awareness campaign with Home for All Continuum of Care, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure access to permanent, safe and affordable housing. Our challenge was to explore how visual media or experiential design could be used to raise awareness of the hidden struggles faced by homeless individuals. This project was part of a semester-long research and design at Bradley University.

Research & Discovery

Working in teams of five, we conducted in-depth research into the issue of homelessness and how individuals were perceived by the public. This included: 

Collaboration with Home for All to understand their mission, tone, and target audience
Interviews and surveys to gather experiences from the homeless and those who work with them
Research into existing awareness campaigns and public space interventions to gather potential ideas
Created user personas, affinity mapping and empathy maps to help further our understanding based on data analysis

From our findings, we discovered a critical insight: many people who have experienced homelessness face negative social stigma and misunderstandings about their predicament. Homelessness can happen to anyone, regardless of background.

Concept Development

I developed The Bridge Memorial Arch, an interactive structure designed to function as both a memorial and a storytelling space—similar in experience to a museum exhibit.

Core Features

Immersive Structure:

Visitors walk through a sculptural arch made of steel bars, forming a tunnel-like passageway.

Engraved Stories:

Etched into the bars are real quotes and stories from individuals who have experienced homelessness, gathered through collaborative research.

Reflective Environment:

The space encourages quiet reflection and empathy, while subtly confronting the visitor with the realities faced by the unhoused population.

Symbolism of Bridges and Tunnels:

The arch draws from the imagery of bridges—a metaphor for both transition and struggle. It nods to the harsh reality that some people are forced to live under bridges, turning a structural necessity into shelter.

Key Message

The central theme of the project was captured in a quote developed by a teammate: “It can happen to you.”
This serves as a reminder that homelessness is not always the result of poor choices, but often uncontrollable circumstances that can affect anyone.

Reflection & Next Steps

This project showed the power of combining architecture, storytelling, and public interaction to communicate social issues.
If expanded further, I would:

Collaborate with architects to refine the structure’s buildability and accessibility
Possible integration of digital media for further visitor interaction

Outcome

The project was presented to the Home for All clients, alongside other student concepts. My design received positive feedback for its emotional impact, visual design, and potential to create meaningful public engagement. Additionally, I was invited to present this as a poster design to the stakeholders at the Illinois Home Summit summer 2025

Further look into the Concept Art

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