ABSTRACT
Between 1985 and 1988, the author, in conjunction with Dr PL Garside, carried out research sponsored by the Department of the Environment, to evaluate the provision of hostels for the single homeless in the United Kingdom. The research examined the interrelationship of design, funding and management and was concerned with assessing the quality of the buildings provided in relation to their purpose. The project studied twentyfive hostels in five different local authority areas, with hostel types ranging from direct access to long stay hostels, and varying in size from four to one hundred and sixty beds. The final report was published in 19911
It became clear during the work that whilst there existed well tried methodologies2 to collect and analyse the data on the physical environment and its effect on occupants, there was no reliable method of comparing the individual hostels apart from the making of unacceptable subjective judgements. The author has worked on developing a methodology for making such comparisons which quantitatively assesses the fit of the building to the needs of the residents. This paper will describe the research evidence on the lack of fit between buildings and occupants and review the basis on which the methodology has been developed.
