Archinect - News

IKEA Foundation supports Better Shelter’s deployment of 5,000 modular shelters in response to earthquake in Turkey and Syria

2023-02-24T11:34:00-05:00

Swedish nonprofit Better Shelter has announced the provision of 5,000 emergency shelters in Turkey following the major earthquake that has so far killed over 47,000 people across the country and neighboring Syria. The shelters were made possible through a EUR 10 million (approximately USD 10.5 million) donation by the IKEA Foundation.

Better Shelter's modular units deployed in Hatay, Turkey after the recent earthquake. Image credit: Alaaddin Seyitisa for Better Shelter

“The generous support provided by the IKEA Foundation will give crucial protection to many thousand people in this difficult time,” said Better Shelter’s managing partner Johan Karlsson in a statement. “We are proud to support our humanitarian partners in Syria and Türkiye working day and night to help survivors. We now ask businesses to step forward and join our efforts to support even more people who have lost everything.”

Better Shelter's modular units deployed in Hatay, Turkey after the recent earthquake. Image cre...

Doctors Without Borders seeks architect to join their global humanitarian missions

2023-01-18T11:12:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Shop Manager at Studio Sanford Biggers, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open position on Archinect Jobs for an Architect at Doctors Without Borders.

The role, which requires a minimum of two years’ experience, calls for an architect who will oversee the design and construction of infrastructure to support the organization’s international humanitarian missions. Responsibilities in the role can range from feasibility studies and design proposals to management of the tendering, construction, and completion process.

In return, and aside from conventional industry workplace benefits, the organization offers to cover a range of primary costs including pre-departure inductions, vaccinations, visas, transportation and accommodation in the field, and psychosocial care support before and after missions.

Zaha Hadid Architects designs collection of emergency shelters for displaced communities

2022-12-20T11:20:00-05:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has designed a collection of tents to be used as schools, clinics, and emergency shelters for displaced communities. The 27 tents, constructed with the support of the Education Above All Foundation, have been donated to the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and the Qatar Red Crescent.

Photo credit: Luke Hayes

Described by the ZHA team as a “robust, cost-effective, and lightweight modular architectural system,” the weatherproof structures are designed to be easily moved and re-assembled, with components that can be upcycled or recycled. Supported by a curving steel frame clad with fabric, the internal environment offers an open-plan layout lit by diffuse natural light.

Photo credit: Luke Hayes

Before the donation, the tents were being utilized as schools for hundreds of displaced Pakistani children in Pakistan, and Syrian children in Turkey. In their new capacity, ten tents donated to the IOM will serve as schools in Turkey and Yemen, while five will ...

BIG's newest museum project is a timely testament to the outsider in Danish society

2022-06-30T14:45:00-04:00

The latest museum project from Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is now officially open following a weekend ceremony for the new FLUGT Refugee Museum in Oksbøl, Denmark.

With Queen Margrethe looking on, Ingels and his team were on hand to inaugurate the new institution, which is meant as a platform for stories of the immigrant experience in Danish society.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Located on the site of one of Denmark’s largest post-World War II German refugee camps, BIG’s design reworked an existing historic hospital structure into a 1,600-square-meter (17,220-square-foot) space, split into two buildings, that are connected by a single curved Corten steel volume to create a welcoming entryway into the exhibition areas.

Photo: Rasmus Hjortshøj

Its north wing maintains the original circulation of the hospital layout, utilizing the introduction of three stabilizing cross-sections to increase gallery space in the new exhibition areas. In the new sout...

When a refugee camp becomes a semi-permanent settlement

2019-10-01T14:30:00-04:00

With the prospect of the Rohingya not being able to return to Myanmar for years to come, the prototypes in Camp 4 Extension reflect how aid and relief organizations are finding new ways to manage the long-term needs of the most populous refugee camp in the world.

CityLab reports on the latest efforts to drastically improve living conditions inside Kutupalong Refugee Camp, the world's largest camp of its kind and currently home to more than 600,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees that fled from ethnic and religious persecution in Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh.

"Designers in the U.S. are helping to facilitate these dreams for more stable refugee camps," write Victoria Milko and Clare Hammond in their CityLab article about recent design and infrastructure improvements.

"Nadyeli Quiroz and John David Wagner at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design are embarking on a year-long collaboration with OBAT Helpers, an Indianapolis-based community nonprofit, to explore how to create varied functional spaces within the camps, such as outdoor courtyards or provisional pop-up designs."

But making lasting progress is tricky. The Bangladeshi government insists on the temporary status of the camp — emphasizing that its Rohingya population would be returning to My...

China reportedly building refugee camps on North Korean border

2017-12-14T17:29:00-05:00

A Chinese county along the border with North Korea is constructing refugee camps intended to house thousands of migrants fleeing a possible crisis on the Korean Peninsula, according to an internal document that appears to have been leaked from China’s main state-owned telecommunications company.

The Times reports that one of China’s most prominent experts on North Korea called building the refugee camps “absolutely reasonable.”

Stepping Back: last week's news from Snøhetta, the Venice Biennale, and refugee camps on Archinect Sessions #68

2016-06-16T15:50:00-04:00

This week, we’re taking a moment to catch-up with what’s happened on Archinect lately, and share some endorsements—we discuss our latest interview with Snøhetta, our ongoing coverage of the Venice Biennale, student work on refugee camps, and more.

Next week, in light of the shooting death of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, we plan to discuss the significance of accessible queer spaces, for all members of a city community.

Listen to episode 68 of Archinect Sessions, "Stepping Back":

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Apple Podcast App (iOS): click here to subscribe
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Download: this episode

SHOWNOTES:

Ken's endorsement: One student's solution to the permanent limbo of refugee camps

Amelia's endorsements:

Make room, make room: Aravena's Venice Biennale juggles incl...

Calais refugee architecture to be recognized at London Festival of Architecture

2016-06-09T13:37:00-04:00

The festival has been curated by Robert Mull, former dean of the Cass School of Art... His journey then took him to the Calais camp, where he, too, was struck by how “vibrant” the makeshift town was. “Obviously that has to be caveated: it’s a hell of a place and utterly distressing in so many ways, but it was fascinating to see how different groups were establishing a kind of urbanism which felt very authentic, very deeply rooted in their cultures.”

At his pithy yet nuanced best, the Guardian's Olivier Wainwright documents the formation of a makeshift town by refugees in Calais, and the subsequent decision to display some of their works in the London Festival of Architecture.

For more on the architecture of transience and nomadism:

Curator of MoMA's “Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter" on palliative refugee architecture

2016-05-19T13:17:00-04:00

If we imagine one's escape to a refugee camp as fragmentary, provisional and incomplete, the camp must be transformed not only in design but also in its role as a catalyst for promoting the humanity of those living within its barbed-wired walls. [...] Architecture has become the litmus test of society's capacity for holistic and compassionate security.

For more on the architectural experience of refugees:

Kenya moves to shut down Dadaab, the world's biggest refugee camp

2016-05-11T18:25:00-04:00

Kenya has vowed to close the world’s biggest refugee camp within a year and send hundreds of thousands of Somalis back to their war-torn homeland or on to other countries, a plan decried by aid and human rights groups as dangerous, illegal and impractical. Kenya says it needs to close the sprawling Dadaab camp, home to 330,000 mostly Somali refugees, to protect the country’s security after a string of terror attacks by al-Shabaab.

With most of Europe and the Middle East grappling with an unprecedented refugee crisis, it's easy to lose sight of the millions of other displaced peoples around the world. But the largest population of refugees isn't in Germany, Sweden, or France.

Rather, with a population of 329,811 refugees, primarily Somali, the refugee camp complex in Dadaab, Kenya is the largest in the world. Now, the Kenyan government is moving to shut it down.

In related news:

This month Archinect is focusing on socially-aware projects as part of our special theme for May, Help. Have projects of your own that are oriented towards creating a more equitable and livable society? Submit to our open call before Sunday, May 22.

New MoMA exhibition explores the architecture of displacement

2016-05-06T18:11:00-04:00

The architecture of forced displacement is the subject of “Insecurities: Tracing Displacement and Shelter,” a forthcoming exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibit will assemble work by architects, designers, and artists responding to the global refugee crisis. Curated by Sean Anderson, MoMA’s associate curator for architecture and design, with curatorial assistant Arièle Dionne-Krosnick, “Insecurities” will include works of design built to help alleviate suffering inside refugee camps.

↑ Interior of a Better Shelter prototype in Kawergosk Refugee Camp, Erbil, Iraq. (Image: Better Shelter, 2015)

Ai Weiwei documents life in Greek refugee camp on social media

2015-12-30T14:12:00-05:00

The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is visiting Lesbos to document the plight of thousands of refugees who arrive daily on the Greek island by boat from Turkey. For the past two days, Ai has been photographing orange rubber dinghies coming into shore, families huddled around fires, people queuing to register at the Moria refugee camp and piles of discarded lifejackets, among other scenes [...] It is understood Ai will be creating a work in response to the refugee crisis.

Here are just a few of Ai Weiwei's recent photos from the Lesbos refugee camp; giving a human face to people and entire families escaping war and persecution in their home countries of Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, as well as documenting humanitarian workers, such as the Norwegian group, Drop in the Ocean.

All photos by Ai Weiwei via @aiww on Instagram.

The vast majority of Syrian refugees are seeking refuge in cities, not camps

2015-10-30T13:08:00-04:00

Rows of white tents in an otherwise sparse landscape are often featured in the media, but the reality is that 80% of Syrian refugees have sought refuge outside of camps, and the majority of these are living in urban areas – whether in “informal tented settlements”, rented rooms, or half-finished buildings. [...] While the majority of Syrian refugees are not in camps, the bulk of humanitarian resources are channelled towards maintaining camps.

UN Refugee Agency Commissions 10k Ikea-designed Better Shelters

2015-03-31T17:23:00-04:00

Ikea's line of flat-pack refugee shelters are going into production, the Swedish furniture maker announced this week, after being tested among refugee families in Ethiopia, Iraq, and Lebanon. The lightweight "Better Shelter" was developed under a partnership between the Ikea Foundation and the ...UNHCR... Each unit takes about four hours to assemble and is designed to last for 3 years — far longer than conventional refugee shelters, which last about 6 months.

As the Verge article notes, the announcement comes at a time when there are nearly 4 million people left without homes from the ongoing wars in Syria alone. Globally, there are 45.2 million people currently displaced by conflict and persecution according to a UNHCR report. And even that number doesn't account for the millions currently being displaced by drought, famine, rising sea levels, resource scarcity or other ecological disasters.

The Ikea Foundation's "Better Shelter" houses comprise three individual parts: the frame, the panels, and the photo voltaic system. They can be assembled on site without any additional tools or equipment. While lightweight and transportable, the units are designed to last three years. The solar panels charge an LED light that can be used at night for four hours or to charge a mobile phone.

In an article posted last year, Architectures of the Disaster, I consider other design projects addressing the global refugee crisis.

Libraries Without Borders Creates Kit For Refugee Camps

2014-12-22T15:10:00-05:00

A typical library can take years to build. But a new library kit, designed to travel to remote refugee camps or disaster zones, can come together in less than 20 minutes. The Ideas Box...fits the equivalent of a small-town library on two standard shipping pallets. It comes with books and e-readers, tablets, laptops, cameras and other creative tools... Since camps might not have internet access or power, it comes with its own. The boxes that hold all of the devices convert into tables and chairs.

The "suffocating" life in a Syrian refugee tent

2014-12-02T15:00:00-05:00

In the tents of Syrian refugees, stories abound and tragedies surround them daily... With the passage of time, a tent becomes a home and shelter, their only place in this limited world. When rain exhausts the roof of the tents and wind uproots them, the refugees agonize as much as they did over the destruction of their houses in al-Raqqa or Aleppo. “We may have grown accustomed to our tent. Some of us like it, and others still cannot stand it. Do you know how the world can become a tent?”

Refugees Reshape Their Camp, at the Risk of Feeling at Home

2014-09-10T14:38:00-04:00

Public space like the plaza in Al Fawwar is mostly unheard-of in Palestinian camps across the West Bank. Architectural upgrades raise fundamental questions about the Palestinian identity, implying permanence, which refugees here have opposed for generations. [...] Camps were conceived as temporary quarters. The absence of public space was then preserved over the years to fortify residents’ self-identification as refugees, displaced and stateless.

What Does the Syrian Refugee Crisis Mean to Architecture?

2014-09-02T15:22:00-04:00

As a result of the Syrian civil war, there are now 3 million Syrian refugees registered in neighboring countries — an exodus that began in March 2011 and shows no sign of abating, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday. The record figure was 1 million refugees more than a year ago, and an additional 6.5 million are displaced within Syria, meaning that "almost half of all Syrians have now been forced to abandon their homes and flee for their lives," it said.

As the Islamic State rampages through Syria and Iraq, thousands are being displaced to add to the growing refugee population created by a civil war against Bashar al-Assad. The Islamic State actively uses infrastructure, specifically hydoinfrastructure, as a militaristic tactic exacerbating conditions for these displaced people. Many architects have developed projects specifically oriented to the global refugee crisis, of which Syria is part. In a past article, I asserted that this is not just a general ethical imperative, but also specific to architecture. The problems of a refugee camp or urban enclave are often architectural issues that require design solutions. Additionally, architecture can be considered complicit in the forces generating the crisis as millions are displaced because of climate changes, which architecture contributes to significantly.

Refugee Camp for Syrians in Jordan Evolves as a DIY City

2014-07-07T12:39:00-04:00

Zaatari is becoming an informal city: a sudden, do-it-yourself metropolis of roughly 85,000 with the emergence of neighborhoods, gentrification, a growing economy and, under the circumstances, something approaching normalcy, though every refugee longs to return home. [...] The change, accelerated by regional chaos and enterprising Syrians, illustrates a basic civilizing push toward urbanization that clearly happens even in desperate places.

How to Build a Perfect Refugee Camp

2014-02-13T14:13:00-05:00

Many of the world’s displaced live in conditions striking for their wretchedness, but what is startling about Kilis is how little it resembles the refugee camp of our imagination. It is orderly, incongruously so. Residents scan a card with their fingerprints for entry [...]. Inside, it’s stark: 2,053 identical containers spread out in neat rows. No tents. None of the smells — rotting garbage, raw sewage — usually associated with human crush and lack of infrastructure.