Youth centre as an urban laboratory in the Sahrawi refugee camp of Smara
Name
Beatriz Villapecellin Villanueva
Education degree
Master
Study programme
Spatial Design - Architecture, Design and Interiors
Institute
Architecture and Design
Year
2017
The project focus in the Saharawi youth living in the refugee camp of Smara. The centre proposes youth retention initiatives to ensure that refugees are able to remain in the camps with a certain degree of self- sufficiency, giving them a new degree of dignity and security as well as a greater degree of control over their affairs.
The program outlines the urgent need to question assumptions regarding conditions and dynamics within the Sahrawi refugee camps, and to develop policy and programming responses accordingly. This is particularly significant given that idealized representation of life in the Sahrawi refugee camps potentially risk normalizing the status quo.
“More than forty years have passed since the first refugees fled to Algeria and set up camps. Ever since, half of the Western Sahara´s native population has been living in refugee camps”
Atlas - From my visit to the Western Sahara Refugee camps
interior view of the center
1/5
Outdoor common space
Outdoor classroom
View of the main courtyard
Multi-functional classroom
Interior canteen
south elevation
north elevation
overall proposal
plan drawing 1.200
1/5
Roof vault construction
Pavement detail
Existing wall painting
Use of mashrabiya
Interior textiles
longitudinal Section
longitudinal Section
plan drawing in detail 1.50
The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s):
No poverty (1)
Quality education (4)
Decent work and economic growth (8)
Reduced inequalities (10)
Peace, justice and strong institutions (16)
