Empowerment through Architecture: Designing Refugee Habitats to Empower Rohingya Refugees in Kutupalong, Bangladesh

Author

• Laura Salmela

Files

Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Handle

https://hdl.handle.net/10365/29838

Publisher

North Dakota State University

Rights

NDSU Policy 190.6.2

URI

https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf

Abstract

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 602,400 Rohingya refugees reside in the Kutupalong-Balukhali Expansion Site. Located along the coast of south eastern Bangladesh, the camp has become a haven for the Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority who have fled their native country of Myanmar. When Myanmar broke out in violence on August 2017, 671,000 Rohingya were forcefully and violently driven out of their homes by the government. This influx of refugees fled into Bangladesh within a single year, most arriving to the Kutupalong camp within a two month window. With rapid vigor, a camp of approximately 14,000 people sprung to an excessive 602,000 almost overnight. Camp standards regarding space and infrastructure were not kept. Proper sanitary methods, standards of living, roads, bridges, and structural stability from landslides were all compromised to care for the basic needs of 600,000 people. As a result, Kutupalong also claims the title of the world’s most densely populated refugee camp. As humanity, we have a moral responsibility to respond to this global crisis and the Rohingya people affected by it. As architects, we especially have a unique opportunity to respond to this issue with our design skills, understanding of global sustainability, and compassion. This design thesis will use the existing Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh to insert new infrastructure, community facilities, and central nodes into the refugee habitat, thus creating an operational and empowering city. Due to Kutupalong’s pre-existing structure, an organic configuration of densely packed dwellings situated atop the hills of the camp, the decision was made to work with what is present, versus demolishing and starting fresh. This incision into the camp will be done in such a way as to create a habitat based on the principles of a city for the Rohingya community. It should empower refugees by providing access to transportation, communication, jobs, education, and autonomy. Through the analyses of precedent studies, this thesis design will use the research gleaned from existing camps to insert new design elements which empower Rohingya refugees.

Recommended Citation

Salmela, Laura, "Empowerment through Architecture: Designing Refugee Habitats to Empower Rohingya Refugees in Kutupalong, Bangladesh" (2019). Architecture Theses. 669.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/architecture-theses/669