School in a Refugee Camp- Architecture of Displacement

Project idea

The goal was to plan a refugee camp in Pakistan for the Afghan refugees. The main focus of the project was the school, making sure it catered to the community and was sustainable. The design was inspired from the concept of an Agora.

Project description

Project: Refugee Center for 100 families
Site: Jalozai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

The migration from Afghanistan to Pakistan began in December 1979 and continued through the 1980s. In late 1988, about 3.3 million Afghan refugees were housed in 340 refugee camps along the Afghan-Pakistan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Considerations for this design being the rehabilitation process of these trauma-ridden people along with an overarching debate on climatic deliberations.
Pakistan is a country burdened with power outages. run down power distribution infrastructure, along with being subject to climate change; how does it become a worthy host to these distressed individuals? The answer lies in meticulously crafted environmentally responsive architecture among other things.
I looked into designing a space that can be reminiscent of safety and security they once enjoyed in their homeland; a space which is not merely transient but becomes an incubator for their aspirations and brings some normality to their lives.

Technical information

The program includes:
Security fencing
Security post
Administration office
Registration area
Storage area
Feeding center
Distribution center
Housing
School
Health center
Prayer area
Vocational center
Rubbish containers
Showers
Latrines

The master plan, school plan, everything was made on AutoCAD, then shifted to SketchUp and then rendered on Photoshop, where the final sheets were composed.

The structure is made from steel and the facade from corrugated aluminum sheets, recycled from shipping containers which is a cheap material and can be easily assembled on site, which is paramount for refugee camps planning and implementation.