Abstract:
This thesis will examine how permaculture can be used in architecture to enhance the living standards of refugees. According to the UNHCR, there are approximately 9.2 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR 2006)1 and the number of camps are continuing to rise each year. Refugees are people displaced from their homeland by war, political or social conflict or climate change, who travel for days in search of safety and shelter in cramped camps, constrained to living by the help and donations of others. They face insecurity about what their future will hold for them. With the purpose of creating independency and connecting people through architecture and their surrounding landscape. , I am going to introduce permaculture to a Nepalese refugee camp. It will show how a self- managing system can support and educate people by using local resources to create a community that is self sufficient and flexible, whilst reducing the impact large numbers of people can have on the environment. More than a landscaping proposal alone, this design project uses architecture to create a lively, rich environment for refugee inhabitants. In return, the environment is then able to shape and develop the architecture as well. Research has shown that relief organizations currently only plan temporary solutions, providing refugees with the necessities for the moment. However, this is only a short term commitment and doesn't acknowledge how refugee camps are known to develop spatially and continue to be inhabited. My design seeks not only to find a solution to enhance the current situation, but also the future one. By enabling people to gain the necessary skills and education to keep them out of unemployment and away from crime and by creating spaces to allow them to sustain themselves, this design project is an example of both social and environmental sustainable development.