While some countries are still selfishly trying to keep the distraught and homeless refugees out; other regions are more welcoming as evident from this heartwarming example of Germany.
Recently, 18 architecture students from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany couldn’t bear the plight of refugees at the camp, so they teamed up with 25 refugees and built this amazing timber community center in Mannheim, Germany.
The project is a part of the “Building Together—Learning Together” initiative and the 550-squaremeter artistic structure has given new life to the brazen and bare surroundings of the area. The design not only provides adequate shelter to the refugees in the area but also takes the ecological effects and cost into consideration without compromising on the construction quality.
The area once hosted a desolated refugee camp located on the former American Spinelli Barracks, but the timber community center has now given it a more presentable outlook.
The 18 students who worked on the project lived at the refugee camp where they worked intensively for six weeks to finish the project. The construction began from mid-August and continued to the end of October, aimed at building a shelter. They also taught basic building skills and German language to their new co-workers.
The community center is constructed entirely out of lightweight untreated timber, with the larger pieces prefabricated in a former military facility and later, assembled.
The main walls of the structure are made out of Douglas fir, and the walls bear symmetric meshes to allow structural support, natural ventilation, and lighting for creating a play of light and shadow.
The building covers a small garden courtyard along with a large outdoor events space. The shelter entails a built-in seating arrangement which is shielded from the unfriendly weather by a two-meter wall canopy and partitions.
It also contains a pair of storerooms that can be used for multiple purposes in the future.
Keep up the good work, young Germans! Hopefully, the rest of the world can take a leaf out of your book!