The exhibition Who’s Next, created by the Architekturmuseum der Technischen Universität München (Pinakothek der Moderne), presents a wide range of architectural approaches to addressing the phenomenon of homelessness.
Homelessness has been increasing in slightly larger cities. In the 1970s and 1980s, one could observe “traditional vagabonds” in certain isolated areas. They were, in a way, familiar figures whose stories were known by many. This situation drastically changed with the spread of drugs. The line between drug users and the homeless became blurred. At the same time, with the opening of borders, begging became more widespread. Homelessness grew in scale and became more visible.
We are facing a problem that will persist and needs to be better understood, especially as we deal with multiple types of homelessness and equally varied motivations.
This exhibition, shown in Munich, Hamburg, and Bolzano, consists of panels, videos, and models illustrating a series of examples from cities outside Europe, case studies within Europe, and concludes with a perspective on Luxembourg. International examples—Los Angeles, São Paulo, Hong Kong, and Munich—highlighted in the exhibition, aim to encourage reflection on potential solutions.
Rejecting radical exclusion and instead fostering a nuanced understanding of the phenomenon is one of the exhibition’s goals. It calls for rethinking our approach.