Oakland artist turns trash into homes for the homeless

Tue Mar 3 13:14:16 GMT 2015

Helping Homeless: Artist comes up with housing solution in California

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_24869274/oakland-artist-turns-trash-into-homes-homeless

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_DlPN9gkBY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_DlPN9gkBY

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Oakland artist turns trash into homes for the homeless

By Matthew Artz

Oakland Tribune
POSTED:   01/08/2014 09:03:02 AM 
PST<http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_24869274/oakland-artist-turns-trash-into-homes-homeless#disqus_thread>9 
COMMENTS| UPDATED:   10 MONTHS AGO

1/5
Greg Kloehn, right, who takes discarded trash and turns it into

Greg Kloehn, right, who takes discarded trash and 
turns it into rolling shelters for homeless 
people in his west Oakland, Calif. neighborhood, 
greets "Wonder," a homeless woman who now lives 
in the shelter he built for her, Tuesday, Dec. 
31, 2013. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND -- Gregory Kloehn can turn just about anything into a home.

The Oakland artist spends his summers in Brooklyn 
living in a dumpster he outfitted with granite 
countertops, hardwood floors, a rooftop deck, plumbing and a barbecue grill.

But his proudest creations are even cozier 
structures that he gives to homeless people in his neighborhood.

Kloehn's "little homeless homes" are about the 
size of a sofa, but they come with a pitched roof 
to keep out the rain and wheels so recipients can roll them around town.

So far Kloehn has built 10 of the tiny houses 
using mostly illegally dumped trash that piles up 
on the streets in a semi-industrial section of 
West Oakland. The foundation is usually discarded 
wood pallets to which Kloehn will add 
accouterments such as windows, a mirror and a cup 
holder. Several homes are insulated with discarded pizza delivery bags.

Wonder, a homeless woman Kloehn has known for 
several years, parked her new house on the 
sidewalk next to her old home, which consisted 
primarily of a tarp draped over a couch.

"This is the best home I've had in five years," 
Wonder said as she opened the front door -- made 
from a discarded picnic table -- to reveal the 
pizza bag insulation. "It gets real hot in here," she said.

All the homes have gotten rave reviews. "They say 
this is just night and day, especially when it 
rains," Kloehn said. "Once your mattress gets wet, it's just terrible."

Kloehn, a 43-year-old transplant from Denver, is 
a sculptor who "got on a housing kick" after 
building his five-unit live-work condominium complex from scratch.

Inspired by the small home environmental 
movement, Kloehn started making fully functioning 
houses out of shipping containers. He soon moved 
on to dumpsters. "Then I just started grabbing 
garbage and making homes out of that," he said.

Kloehn's fascination with nontraditional homes 
helps support his wife and two children. While he 
gives away the homeless houses, he sells homes, 
bars and restaurants that he makes from shipping 
containers, many of which reside in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.
<http://www.mercurynews.com/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?contentItemRelationshipId=5648473>
The interior of one of the makeshift homeless shelters that Gre

The interior of one of the makeshift homeless 
shelters that Gregory Kloehn of Oakland, has 
built out of garbage dumped in his West Oakland 
neighborhood. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

"Before I was all about sculpture, but I realized 
it just sits there. And you're just peddling it 
to rich people," he said. "I kind of think if 
you're putting so much effort into something it 
would be nice if it did something."

As Kloehn delved deeper into the essence of a 
home, he began studying the homeless shanties in 
his neighborhood. He self-published a book titled 
"Homeless Architecture" and sometimes grabbed his 
drill to help local homeless people secure their shelters against the elements.

"I admire them for how they build," he said. 
"When you think about it, they are really living 
green. They're going around recycling all day and 
then they scrape stuff from the street to make a 
home on a piece of property that no one really cares about."

But Kloehn never made the connection that his 
tiny houses could help the homeless until a 
homeless couple came by his house last year and 
asked him for a tarp. Kloehn could only offer 
them what he had in his studio -- a tiny wooden 
structure equipped with a built-in kitchen, water 
tank and a small trap for human waste.

"I had this home sitting right here," Kloehn 
said. "I thought, 'Why am I keeping it?'"

Over the past year, Kloehn has further simplified 
his design so he can make a home out of five 
pallets. Each home takes two to three days to make.

Most of the homes can be found on the streets of 
West Oakland although a few have not fared well. 
The home Kloehn gave to the couple seeking the 
tarp was firebombed. No one was injured, he said. 
Another home was stolen. And one recipient sold 
his home for $80. It's now being used as a doghouse, Kloehn said.

Oakland spokeswoman Karen Boyd said that to her 
knowledge the tiny homes had not registered on 
the city's radar. Oakland supports many types of 
homes for people suffering from the housing 
shortage, she said. But city officials would need 
to discuss whether the homes present encroachment or other policy issues.

Kloehn has no plans to build houses for all of 
Oakland's homeless. But he doesn't intend to stop 
anytime soon. He's working on new designs, 
including a geodesic dome and a chuck wagon.

He'd also like to start doing weekend workshops 
to teach others how to make them. "A lot of 
people who hear about what I'm doing want to get 
involved," he said. "Maybe we meet someplace and put a couple homes together."

Contact Matthew Artz at 510-208-6435

TRASH HOMES

To donate materials or inquire about potential 
volunteer opportunities, contact Gregory Kloehn 
at <mailto:greg.kloehn at gmail.com>greg.kloehn at gmail.com.

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