Co-Designed

Children in refugee camps are one of the least accessible target groups to work with when it comes to design participation, because of the many strict regulations creating isolation. Simultaneously, this group has an incredible need to be empowered in their sense of dignity, autonomy and most of all to be seen, heard and understood in their emotional needs.

First, to get access to the camp and, therefore, to the children, we needed to develop a structural design and apply for a permit with the ministry. Since we wanted to wait to define the space’s program, we came up with the concept of an overarching structure, with great height in the middle and more refuge in the aisles. This way we secured enough flexibility for different functions in the space, to be determined in contact with the children later.

The camps allowed us only to visit the children a couple of times, so we needed to come up with a cohesive strategy. Displaced children are often traumatized, and compromised in their ability for introspection and can be in a distressed embodied state by default.

To stimulate social interaction, embodied creativity, and connection, we started with several group activities. For example games of passing around a ball and expressing something about yourself, or standing in a circle and collectively leaning into a rope to create a sense of trust.

Next, the children created so-called ‘creatures’ from scrap material with each their own identity, which were to become the imagined users of the models we would create later. Since refugee children are never asked about their needs directly, we gave them animate objects on which they could project their needs indirectly. This also provided us with something to talk about, to ask questions, and for children to empathize with the user more tangibly.

Finally, we gave two design assignments, that formed a set of references for our design conceptualization of the space.

• Free flow models from scrap wood: This three-dimensional assignment was to create a diverse playground for the creatures, including parkour and shelter, working with scale, gravity, obstacles, and spatial challenges.
• Printed sections of the open structure, which served as a template for children to draw into, asking them to concretize their ideas in the existing overarching structure.

Co-created

In reflection to the first participatory design efforts, it was hard to select or distill the best ideas. Moreover, many children had left the camp and new children had entered as well. This made it impossible to draw any conclusions about what the best matching design decisions would be for this dynamic group of users. Therefore we came up with a complimentary approach of trial and error.

Since we do both the design and construction of spaces, we were in a unique position to alter the design during the construction efforts. We came up with different ideas to try in the space and see how they were liked or how they could be further attuned, such as interconnected hammocks, climbing ropes and a community swing. Eventually, we also became aware that the children liked all additions to the space to be flexible and adaptive. The main area was even better functioning when there was no addition at all and stayed free for running, and group play.

Eventually, we also involved the children through several workshops where they could contribute to the construction of the spaces by helping in painting and making wind chimes.