Cart-Home: Mobile Architecture for Inclusive Urban Futures

In rapidly growing cities, architecture must evolve beyond static buildings to address pressing urban challenges such as homelessness, inequality, and lack of safe public spaces. The Cart-Home project by Kruti Shah and Sebastian, an Honorable Mention entry of Urbanscape 2018, exemplifies this shift by merging emergency shelter design with movable architecture to support communities in need.

A Public Good for the Streets

Cart-Home is conceived as a device for living and working in the street, offering a public good that embodies decentralized administration. Designed as a mobile cart, it provides emergency shelter, workspaces, and adaptability, addressing the needs of vulnerable urban populations. Its mobility allows individuals to carry their homes and livelihoods with them, ensuring resilience in the face of uncertainty.

Adaptive and Modular Architecture

The project responds to the dynamics of urban life by synthesizing pre-existing street behaviors into a single adaptable device. Drawing inspiration from informal vending carts, mobile stalls, and street appropriations, the Cart-Home design incorporates modularity and flexibility. Its foldable surfaces transform into shelters, worktables, and shaded spaces, expanding usability without demanding permanent urban land.

Sustainable and Low-Cost Design

At the heart of Cart-Home is a sustainable architecture approach. Constructed from locally available and upcycled materials such as recycled wood, jute, tarpaulin, and bicycle wheels, the structure minimizes costs and maximizes accessibility. The use of simple fabrication techniques ensures that it can be easily replicated within communities through do-it-yourself construction methods. Low energy consumption and material reutilization enhance its ecological footprint, aligning the project with circular economy principles.

Cycle of Use and Flexibility

The Cart-Home is more than a shelter—it is a flexible urban furniture system. Its design allows differentiation between inside and outside materiality, while foldable tables expand the footprint for multiple purposes such as vending, resting, or community interaction. A movable dustbin and solar-powered features add to its self-sufficiency, making it an example of ephemeral architecture that adapts to urban contingencies.

Testing in the Urban Fabric

The prototype was tested in Ahmedabad, India—a city where pedestrian vulnerability, inadequate footpaths, informal vending, and homelessness are pressing realities. By situating Cart-Home within this urban fabric, the project demonstrated its potential to reclaim leftover spaces, extend footpaths, and create ephemeral public markets. The intervention transforms neglected corners into vibrant zones of exchange and protection.

Reclaiming Urban Space through Architecture

What sets Cart-Home apart is its ability to transform architecture into an agent of urban equality. By extending footpaths into safe vending areas and creating shaded environments, it shields pedestrians from harsh climates and vehicular dangers. Its presence challenges privatization trends, instead promoting self-organized markets and inclusive urban design.

The Cart-Home project by Kruti Shah and Sebastian illustrates how mobile architecture and sustainable design can provide dignified, adaptable solutions for those living at the edge of society. Recognized with an Honorable Mention in Urbanscape 2018, the project reflects the growing movement of architects embracing human-centered, resilient urban design. Cart-Home is not just a shelter—it is a vision for reclaiming public space and reimagining cities as places for everyone.