| dc.description.abstract | When Albert Einstein said, "A bundle of belonging isn't the only thing
a refugee brings to his new country", he must have meant it in the most
literal sense because, he was a refugee, Sigmund Freud was a refugee,
Madeleine Albright & Henry Kissinger both former U.S Secretaries of
States were refugees. The way we treat these names today should help
us find the positive in Hindsight and support refugees overcome their
trauma and help harness the skills and talents they possess to make the
world a better place.
This thesis project intents to do just that-Design and Build a facility
that is unique in nature yet functional in every aspect of a refugee
rehabilitation and development process.
Over the years Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS) has
made North Dakota home to thousands of refugees from around the
world, notably Bosnia, Burundi, Bhutan, Cambodia, Iraq, Rwanda,
Somalia, Sudan, and of lately Afghanistan and Ukraine. Like other
States that have resettled refugees, the narrative of the local social
fabric is slightly changing to reflect cultures from other parts of the
world.
In Fargo for instance where the largest number of refugees resettled, the
racial dynamics is readily visible, and you can hardly walk into a
grocery store today and not see a refugee or someone related to a
refugee. They speak English with accent or no English at all but, they
do possess skills, talents and trades that are either acquired formally or
informally in languages other than English. If all these could be harness
and used, both refugees and the host community would benefit
simultaneously.
The question this project seeks to answer therefore is, "How can
Architecture as a design profession be used to play the role of a good
neighbor who not only welcomes refugees and make them feel safe and
at home but, goes a step further and assist refugees establish small
businesses within the community even without mastering the language.
This thesis research will expose the level of skills and talents that
refugees possessed, while creating an opportunity for growth of small
business sectors within the refugee community. The "Refugees Center
and Small business Incubator" will focus on developing refugee talents
and skills, healing trauma, while establishing a sense of purpose, and a
run for a second chance at life. | en_US |
