‘There’s no such thing as home.’
– Zacharias Braff, The Garden State of Friendship movie film
This is the story of how Carles gave up his prestigious position at a leading architecture firm and eventually ended up living in this temporary cardboard structure attached to a wall in the subway. A story about giving up everything 2 find urself.
Photo via Ivan Rodic
I went away to the city. After I finished the 5 year architecture program at Rhode Island Institute of Design, I got a job with one of the most prestigious architecture firms in the world. They were known for their innovation, ‘kewl looking buildings’ and sometimes downright zany/dangerous design decisions. I was the understudy to one of the most respected architects in the world, and he really taught me a lot–how to challenge norms and how 2 transcend society. How 2 value public space and how not 2 care about material things. He taught me about how to use the Adobe Creative Suite, as well as how to use ‘actual Adobe’ to create a shelter. The truth is, when u architectify a beautiful building, it doesn’t need to stand out–it needs to be functional and cheap. This is the beauty behind architecture.
After I ‘matured’ into a true designer, I resigned from my position, and decided to go to a suburban construction company who designed ’shitty buildings’ that people take for granted. I made a lot of structures that I was very proud of. I did not make as much money as I could of, nor did I design museums or investment banking facilities, but I was truly happie.
Here is a strip mall that I designed.
I redesigned the space within 24% of Subways in the USA
I designed a space in which Chicken and Tacos could be served.
Here is a concept Chinese restaurant that I embedded within a now defunct mall.
I even revolutionized the storage industry by inventing something called ‘Portable On Demand Storage’ (PODS), where people can put all of their shit in a huge box.
As you can see, I designed things that real people use on a daily basis. It was as if I had ‘mastered’ architecture, and there was nothing else to achieve. I felt like I was on top of the world, much like after most architects build their ‘master building.’ I was truly on top of my game.
This was when I decided to challenge norms for the rest of my own life.
I created a temporary structure within the local subway system. It was made out of cardboard and duct tape. The purpose of this structure is to promote ’sustainability’ and ‘portability.’ One of the walls of my new home was ‘already built’ and I could theoretically live any where in the world, just as long as there was some sort of ‘wall’ where my home could be attached. I did not need multiple rooms, a restroom, or even many furnishings beyond a bundle of cloth to sleep upon.
No longer do I need to be ‘connected to a world’ so I no longer require television, internet, nor radio. I am truly free. I have formed a small bartering community with other ‘underlings’ and we trade essential goods and services.
I am finally home. This is my structure. It took me 20 years of being an architect to finally realize what it means to feel ‘at home’ within a structure. After years of searching for a place where I belong after the death of my mother, I finally felt ‘free.’ While many people within society would thing that I am ‘a piece of shit’, they don’t realize that until you have learned what it takes to create+alter space, u don’t truly understand how ’structures’, ‘buildings’, and miscellaneous portals of space have changed U as a person.
U R Where U Live.
This Bro Is Me.
Previous homelessness coverage
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2008/12/homelessness-big-in-2k9.html
http://www.hipsterrunoff.com/2009/06/my-parents-kicked-me-out-of-the-house.html
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IAmCarles.com
24 Comments
…..First…..
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dos eqiuis
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third? Reminds me of highschool when some guy made a fort of tables in the back of the room and made a flag with his name on it and the teacher didn’t even notice…. for awhile.. obviously was pissed when she did.
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I would never thing that.
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how many rock bottoms make a carboard honeymoon
Fullscale008: somebody put roofies in my skittles
tidybowl3: scandalll
tidybowl3: roofie
Fullscale008: fuck a roofie/ i swallow basements
tidybowl3: OMGizzle
Fullscale008: Drizzle
Fullscale008: we read like encyclopedia-versed retards
tidybowl3: re-tards
tidybowl3: sup sugaaa
tidybowl3: people trying to kill me
tidybowl3: FOR THE MEMORIES
Fullscale008: make a mem/ kill a friend
Fullscale008: (inadvertently) it happens every once ina while
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//////////Reply by tits
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 12:06 am
@fullscale008, hey fucker that makes no sense. r u trying to waste my ‘precious’ time?
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//////////Reply by fullscale008
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 12:57 am
@tits, manic monday, got non-sensical kevlar strapped to the chest
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@monica, 6 months later
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//////////Reply by zxcvb
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 2:27 am
@Carles. You’ve been I.D.ed.
The jig = up
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“shake those hands” – petey gabriey
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@monica, DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHERS?!!
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//////////Reply by altina
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 3:20 am
@gfysd, what’s the point in ‘unmasking’ The Crls? I’d rather think I AM CARLES
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//////////Reply by Sociolog
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 6:54 am
@altina, agreed. clearly carles wishes to remain anonymous, and that’s probably the only thing that makes HRO work/entertaining. wish these fools would stop trying so hard to out carles… whats the point… are yall just dying to ‘friend him’ on facebook or something…? i think we could all figure it out if we wanted to, this is the internet after all, but we don’t ‘know’ because we don’t wanna know.
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//////////Reply by gfysd
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
@Sociolog, I have been trying for a really long time, it WAS impossible, but now that i know about tulane i am almost there. I am not gonna tell everyone, or anything like that, I am just really interested because it’s fascinating to me. I want to see what kind of a human he is, you know? And I want to know what he does for a living. I am in love with him. I want to fuck the shit out of carles.
//////////Reply by Sociolog
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
@Sociolog,
gfysd- ok that’s fair. i can’t argue with love.
//////////Reply by anony
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
@Sociolog, Mainstreamers would find him fascinating but to be alt is to be carles. Have you not seen the t-shirt? carles is every alt and every alt is carles. It’s quite simple really.
System of a Down – Shame on a Nigga.mp3
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‘I did not need multiple rooms, a restroom, or even many furnishings beyond a bundle of cloth to sleep upon’
so thats what the am appy bag o scraps is for…
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lol, my uncle worked for tacobell/kfc/pizzahut as an architect traveling around the world designing buildings.
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My all-time favorite HRO post is the “space” post. I love when you mock the pretensions of designers.
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//////////Reply by anony
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
@dax jax, alts don’t seem to care about design unless asked to design something.
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Don’t worry Carlesbro, you can sleep in the subway and update HRO from the apple store.
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carles really likes the song ‘my girls’ by the animal collectors and wants to be like rem koolhaas. But he’s stuck in texas with a shitty business job. i guess HRO is a good ‘creative outlet’ where he can sarcastically project his daydreams to people without anyone knowing who he is. DO IT CARLES.
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//////////Reply by bANANAS
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
@jim morisson, hahaha. that made me L0L. “a properr hooouuuse”
carles do a post via “Taste” by animal collective next!!
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good post, i dont think the acoustics will be that good in your box when u are listenin to animal collective
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alt installation.
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//////////Reply by the fink
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 11:53 am
@panoptican, YES
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fuck evrythng, lets play ALT BINGO!!!!!!!
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best post for a while Crlsbro
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t carles if the obama govrnmnt ever tries to put balconies on your unique cardboard housing project you should blow it up like john galt did in Anthem
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Crls, did you look out of your car window and get a ‘dea from a strip mall? Evry1 already knows to make fun of them. Kinda felt like this1 was forced. hope u find ur muse, bro.
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//////////Reply by anony
//////////Posted August 25th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
@jan, Yes but the point is that someone designed most things that people never think about. I often wonder when I see prints sold at big boxes the world over who is behind the art. Did they realize that it would be so shamelessly exploited or did the approve of it to ‘make a quick buck’ by creating something inauthentic?
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did ivan rodic ask you to pull his photo? why isn’t it on the main page anymore?
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does any1 know of free/cheap places to live in pittsburgh? got to get out there soon. it’s lousy for vegan places (as far as I know, too lazy to properly research) but my gf is there :/
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i live in my friends small walk-in closet at school.
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that pf changs is at somerset
REPPIN MICHIGAN CARLES.
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