Project BSc2-II: Housing - Atelier Juaçaba

Switzerland has a long humanitarian tradition and in recent history, along with Germany and Austria, has been recipient of the greatest number of asylum applications, per capita, in Europe. The Swiss Asylum Act - taken from the Geneva Refugee Convention of 1951, reads: “Refugee is the designation for people who are persecuted due to their ethnic origin, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or due to their political convictions”. In the second semester, the studio will work on the building typology of a Refugee Asylum. Camps or Asylum’s are usually built with the intention to be demolished. In Switzerland, they are mostly built to last 15-20 years, or gain another use after that time. The building is by essence a transitional space, both in respect of the architecture and the temporary occupants. However, life and culture must continue, so it also needs to be a territory of sociability and integration.
 Reflecting on the typology of asylum is one of the issues of the course. 
An Asylum can be a place to live and work, play, remain, and if possible, stimulate activities, even occupations, for its residents by adding programs that activate integration, sociability and a connection with the city or local context.
 

Declinate the reflection on domestic living, both individual and collective, with great attention to the context with which it relates.
Investigate the potential of undefined spaces for living, free to change and adapt to human needs, in a respectful coexistence with the context.
Work on transitional spaces and left over spaces, reflecting on the importance of leaving the space free and flexible for the users and for the entire community of interest.
Giving care to public and semipublic spaces in every step of the design process, for both semester.
 

In presence

Weekly reviews with professor and assistants. Group and individual research will alternate during the process. The atelier supports independent research through weekly feedbacks. 

Drawings and models hand-in. Constant presence during the semester. Final presentations and reviews.

• Switzerland, 04.10.24 - 04.10.24 (Compulsory)