Mobile Refuge Room

Designing the Mobile Refuge Room

In 2019, Designing Justice + Designing Spaces partnered with Center of Hope Church in Oakland, CA, to design a dynamic and cost-effective housing solution on their property that could support men returning from prison.

Through a two-month community engagement process, the idea for the Mobile Refuge Rooms emerged.

To design a prototype, DJDS engaged formerly incarcerated students in Restoring Our Communities (ROC) – an academic support program at Laney College in Oakland, California.

Project Details

Spaces for: Reentry, Specialized Housing
Program Partners: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), Elevator Works, Laney College Restoring our Communities (ROC) Program, Laney College FabLab, College of Alameda Fab Lab, FabCity Oakland
Location: Oakland, CA
Status: Construction completed 2019, exhibiting “Making Home—Smithsonian Design Triennial” November 2, 2024 through August 10, 2025

Center of Hope Church, Oakland, CA

Center of Hope Church reimagined as Hope Village

Housing insecurity after incarceration

Transitional housing in particular is the first critical step of reentry from prison back into communities, and represents a key opportunity to interrupt the revolving door of the criminal legal system.

Safe, dignified, trauma-informed housing — especially with access to supportive services like job training, education, and mental health support — is elusive and difficult to obtain for people returning home after incarceration.

A trauma-informed approach to housing

The Mobile Refuge Room is a transitional housing prototype designed to improve the experience for men and women who are reentering their communities from prison.

Each room provides privacy and spatial support, equipped with a murphy bed, a desk, and storage for clothing and valuables. These units are assembled from flat-pack, and can be clustered in configurations within a space, adapting to each individual’s personal preferences.

A cluster of Mobile Refuge Rooms can be arranged around communal space

Essential furniture components built into modular niches can be personalized

A cluster of Mobile Refuge Rooms can be arranged around communal space

Fabrication as workforce development

The Mobile Refuge Room initiative offers opportunities for living quarters, and workforce development in digital and physical fabrication for formerly-incarcerated men and women.

In May 2020, a 15-week program with Autodesk Pro-Bono Impact was completed to improve the design, transport, and assembly of the unit. Neal’s CNC has completed production of the third (gamma) prototype, and a fourth (delta) prototype is in development as the design continues to evolve.

Formerly incarcerated students at Laney College use cardboard to design the MRR

Learn more about our restorative justice projects: