The Architecture of Migration: Teaching Agency in Adaptive Refugee Housing

Increasing man-made and natural disasters compel architecture educators to revisit how students as future practitioners can best address the challenges of housing a growing number of forcibly displaced people. The complexities of domestic and global contexts are difficult to generalize. Migrant demographics and their economic and political circumstances vary widely, as do time lines for resettlement and the possibility of eventual repatriation. The broad classifications of displaced people (e.g., refugee, asylum seeker, internally displaced people) do not illuminate distinct personal conditions. Through background research, interviews with experts in the field, and experimental teaching, we consider how forced migration trends challenge established pedagogical approaches and existing models of architectural practice. We evaluate the role of architects when designing for uncertain and turbulent contexts in which empathic design is essential. The diversity of situations makes it impossible to determine a fixed playbook to follow. We conclude that rather than prescribing a definitive professional role or predicting a standard set of responsibilities, we can address these questions by formulating critical thinking exercises and identifying key considerations as they relate to distinct circumstances. We must look ahead to a time when our students will need to work out solutions and strategies on their own and provide attitudes and skills for sensitively addressing dynamic crisis situations.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Teach.2021.28

Volume Editors
Jonathan A. Scelsa & Jørgen Johan Tandberg

ISBN
978-1-944214-38-8