Beauty, participation and inclusion: designing with homeless people

“Living in the dorm” is a research-action against homelessness. Its theoretical postulate is that, if social workers, guests, designers and researchers share knowledge, practices and customs, the housing service spaces for homeless people can be developed into places rich in symbolic contents and opportunities for relationships. Furthermore, they can better improve the daily life of the homeless. With a participatory approach, anthropology interacts with design in the development and implementation of multidisciplinary and immersive projects. They offer the opportunity to homeless people to rethink their role in relation to the received service and to researchers, in order to test their profession in a social context of practical need.