an urban arrival lobby for migrants empowers amsterdam as a city of integration

recent global migration waves have fueled intense debates in amsterdam, the netherlands and beyond. migration is of all ages however, and comes in many varieties — nomadic, circulatory, refugee, settler, temporary, and many more. instead of perceiving it as a problem, design firm FABRICations suggests that being open to various types of migration could also be highly beneficial to both newly arrived migrants as well as amsterdam itself. current policies for integration of asylum seekers in the netherlands mean long waiting times, sometimes up to two years, during which applicants are denied to work and have no access to social urban dynamics. bureaucratic procedures result therefore in many lost opportunities while amsterdam is growing and in need for diverse talents and backgrounds.

existing program suitable for interaction – aerial view of wittenburg

in response to these debates, FABRICations + bureau LADA, in collaboration with rené boer from failed architecture, aim to create a special social zone in amsterdam where, through experimental policies and speculative design, a space of arrival for these migrants could be carved out, spurring interaction between the newcomers and the current inhabitants. but how to define an ‘open city’? what resources can make newcomers a dynamic urban class? and how can design help absorbing incoming flows without developing into an economic toy for exploitation? as part of the international social housing festival 2017, this research has taken the wittenburg area in amsterdam as a case study examining the possibilities of the densification of this residential area by merging new social housing and working typologies with existing public buildings, actors and agents.

agents of change – aerial view of wittenburg

the outcome is a social zone where refugees have special legal permissions to operate and actively participate in the urban socio-economic environment. within the zone, the new socio-spatial elements would be densifying the existing tissue, connecting and enriching existing programs with 50% new working and living units. spatial frames, designed for progress and able to be filled in by their users, stimulate interaction and new forms of co-living. this basic structure forms the base for further infill throughout time. all frames present basic features and the same material, carrying the ability to be actively engaged.

urban vision – street view of the wittenburg in 2021

equipped with the right political and architectural infrastructure, wittenburg could become a unique welcoming ‘red carpet’ for amsterdam’s new arrivals. not a closed area of exclusion but an openly accessible area for experimentation where self-building and new social policies result in new forms of collective, affordable housing and shared working environments. empowering asylum seekers to make their waiting time more useful for themselves and for the city, allowing undocumented refugees to access housing and work opportunities, allowing companies, universities and institutions to provide opportunities for newcomers beyond existing restrictions, stimulating each arrival to let their talents blossom, for their own and the city’s benefit.

urban vision – street view of the wittenburg in 2021

building pier – product facility for self construction materials recollection and distribution

cloister garden – multifaith prayer room

learning chambre – integration with the a.turning school

asylum request journey in the netherlands horizontal

plan des chambres – site plan

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: apostolos costarangos | designboom

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