Reinterpreting Minawao
Mapping and designing devices for the self-construction of the camp (and its community)
Author Simone Broglia
Final thesis, MSc in Architecture, Politecnico di Milano
A.Y. 2017-2018
Advisor Marco Giuseppe Baccarelli (Politecnico di Milano)
Co-advisor Beatrice Galimberti (ASF Italia)
Minawao is a refugee camp in the far north of Cameroon, opened in July 2013 by the UNHCR to cope with the growing number of Nigerian displaced people fleeing Boko Haram.
Starting from the data analysis and the mapping of the settlement, the project aims to reinterpret the fabric of the camp. Indeed, if, in the first months, the crisis requires an immediate response, it seems clear that with the permanent settlement of refugees, the return to everyday life becomes fundamental. The goal is to design spaces for socialising, from markets to places of worship, to create a sense of belonging to the place, building all the services and infrastructures which are necessary for the development of social life. The use of simple local materials and low technologies encourages the direct involvement of the refugees in the construction of their structures, so as to build and nourish a sense of community.
