UNHOME: Virtual Reality as a Thought-Provoking Experience
14. August 2025
Link to the article on t3n.
Virtual Reality as a Thought-Provoker: This VR Project Shows the Daily Struggles of People Experiencing Homelessness
For many, homelessness is an abstract concept, making the lives of people without homes invisible. Unhome aims to raise awareness of their plight through VR – and to spark small-scale change.
By Florian Zandt
The wind whistles through the railway underpass, thick snowflakes fall from the sky, and it’s bitterly cold. Next to me lies my dog, its paw crudely bandaged, shivering. I’m not much better off; the thin wool blanket over my legs has seen better days, and my gloves are missing fingers. I’m hungry, I reach out, but the people passing by ignore me. I still have my daily quota to meet – 30 euros to survive.
Finally, a woman stops and hands me a coffee in a to-go cup. The shame of having to ask for help gives way to gratitude. A hot drink doesn’t solve my problems, but it helps me get through the day.
In reality, I’m not sitting on the street as a homeless person but in the open-plan office of the digital agency Curious Company. The space radiates industrial chic and is tucked away in a courtyard of an old tram depot in Hamburg’s Ottensen district. On the spacious floor, between elegant desks and an open, modern coffee kitchen, under high ceilings in the light-filled room, four yellow wooden chairs are set up. People wearing VR headsets and controllers sit there, experiencing the same simulation as I am. The difference between the simulation and the real world is enormous, but that only makes the experience even more impactful.
Reaching Out Requires Courage
Unhome is the interactive VR project created in Unreal Engine, designed to convey impressions of life for people without homes in 20 minutes. At the start of the simulation, you experience life with a job, an apartment, and a relationship. A termination and lack of work set the avalanche in motion. From account garnishments to eviction, social exclusion, and experiences of violence, the project demonstrates in four episodes how quickly people can fall into homelessness and how little control they have over their fate afterward.