Places of Belonging for the Displaced

Abstract

The starting point for this graduation project was a fascination with how architects can design for people who live at the margins of society, people that are invisible to many. The research was an investigation into places of belonging of displaced people in the Netherlands. In this case, the term displaced people was used for refugees, asylum seekers, status holders, etc. During the project's research phase, eight places of residence for displaced people were researched using ethnographical research methods like fieldwork and semi-structured interviews. During the research, I was confronted with how these spaces of residence were designed; it is not easy to get a feeling of belonging in them. The following four conclusions are things that do help people in the sense of belonging to a place; 'Accessibility and Predictability', being able to 'Share Culture and Background', 'Being in Control' and 'Privacy and Intimate spaces'.

These four points were used to create a design for a place of residence and culture centre for status holders in Utrecht. The design is located in 'het Wolvenplein', a former prison in the city centre of Utrecht. The design shows that if you can open a former prison and create a place of home there, it should be possible to create a good place to live for displaced people in any building. The design proposes a paradigm shift in how we design for displaced people.