Margaret Morton—Fragile Dwelling: Homeless Communities of New York City
HKDI had recently invited Margaret Morton to give a guest lecture on Fragile Dwelling — a 45-minute walkthrough of her documentation about the inventive ways in which homeless people in New York City have created not only places to live but also communities that offer a sense of pride, place and individuality.
![]() |
Since 1989, Morton has photographed the dwellings that homeless people in New York City have created for themselves. Her project has taken her many unfavoured places yet clustered with homeless people with different cultural backgrounds. Photographs and oral histories from her ongoing project have been published in three books: Fragile Dwelling: Homeless Communities of New York City; The Tunnel: The Underground Homeless of New York City; and Transitory Gardens, Uprooted Lives. Morton’s photographs document the transitory |
Morton’s camera reveals the ingenuity of builders who have constructed homes out of discarded materials such as warehouse pallets, junked |
![]() |
Others
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/124/fb605f23cc301212f5a4c2c3a3ddbb610a846afa.png)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Radical New Slant on Cityscapes from French Design Duo Bouroullec Brothers - Urban Daydreaming
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/125/3731897b5697c46ce8f6b0dda3cfb55e3513ee77.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Crouching designer, hidden cultural identity Tim Yip: Blue — Art, Costumes and Memory
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/126/986c02cce42e558b4f18f15ea92e3e51a44989f2.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
How Design Thinking Made Tim a Champion
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/129/ce7cffcd0380fd8191050c2f6da2570d04a64e03.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Artist Interview - Chic & Artistic
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/130/1ddead63f1059e92f674387cc9b1ad4d9ec1d92e.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Artist Interview - Lochner | Carmichael
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/131/f8b0b02bf015c704b09e3c53b227fea7a436ee09.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Artist Interview - Sandrine Dulermo & Michael Labica
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/132/bbea190bd100c2978dfb16015e3c0aa4c68e799f.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Artist Interview - Studio Harm Rensink
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/133/2906b44ada205e479c2e257eec15200cfce2633a.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Artist Interview - Tsaruk & Ahmadova
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/127/9bbdfe900635bd65f03ed2306f6f0d96e8350bcd.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Why Enterprise Architecture Needs Design Thinking
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/134/d7c176856ced752c65a613ade7796574ca6ba1d6.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Master Thinker on Health X Design: Professor Ian Gwilt
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/135/8d5b670fb7445f608fe90b9cd356af120476492f.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Master Thinker on Enterprise X Design: Elaine Ann
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/136/0da229e86c529ff2dca7369cfdbe88cedeafe724.jpeg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Master Thinker on Food X Design - Professor Michael Krohn
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/128/9a9190034a5faddda43606f07391d000acac57a6.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
Design Thinking is About Finding Out What Works in the Real World
![](http://hkdi.edu.hk/uploaded_files/product/137/9823de88f110ac9097baf21df4d5bc1998edc399.jpg)
Latest News | 1 December 2018
HKDI Alumni: The Spirit of Esprit