Project Development part 1

1.Abstract

Early in the morning on the 24th of February 2022, millions of people in Ukraine woke up due to explosions. Russia attacked Ukraine. Again. And the biggest full-scale war in Europe since WWII broke out. In threat to life over 14 500 000 Ukrainians were forced to leave the country and seek refuge abroad. Most of them are children, women and the elderly. About 70,000 Ukrainian refugees are now registered in Switzerland.

My project seeks for a way to improve housing situations – focusing on co-living situations – and about corresponding opportunities to improve the quality of life and providing “better conditions” for Ukrainian refugees abroad. My goal for the 1st semester was to explore my role as a designer within the given challenge as well as analyzing what are the current conditions and how do they get perceived by the affected.

2. Project background 

2.1. Personal motivation for the problem

On the 24th of February, I, like the other 44 million Ukrainians, woke up at 5 am to a loud sound. At first you just can’t believe this is all happening to you. Then you accept the situation and start thinking about how to move on. 

This project is a description and investigation of my current situation and those of many other Ukrainians. Sometimes it is overwhelming to work on the war/refugee theme when you are directly in this situation. But I felt like I had no choice because for me it’s impossible to think about something else.

2.2. Background information / Facts 

The military situation in Ukraine provides for a ban on traveling abroad for men aged 18 to 60 years. Therefore, 87% of all refugees abroad are women and kids, 26% are women aged from 18 to 34.

Coming to Switzerland, Ukrainian refugees get to live in the following types of housing: 

• Federal Asylum Centre (FAC) - basically refugee camps; 

• Cantonal accommodation - shared flats, hotels, hostels, dormitories; private accommodation - host families. 

About 60% – or 40,000 – of all registered Ukrainian refugees in Switzerland are housed privately. Still many people have to live in camps for many months having only a bunk and chair and no private space at all.

3. Design problem

My research combined with my personal experiences have led me to realize that my design problem is a wicked problem. It consists of a combination of different challenges which I describe in the following:

“How can you complain about anything if you live on Swiss taxes.”

Interview from Der Bund

The quote above depicts different aspects of refugees life, but it is also relevant for the housing question. The situation is unique, local residents let Ukrainian refugees live at their houses. As the war probably will drag on, it means that refugees have to stay abroad for a longer period of time. Special circumstances of Ukrainian refugees can also mislead to the opinion that Ukrainian refugees are more demanding and therefore expect more gratitude from them. Additionally, being dependent on the state’s or private individuals’ money is very difficult to deal with.

I conducted interviews with two Ukrainian girls and had several informal talks with more than 10 people. This made me realize that young women feel weak and stressed coping with problems abroad. 

I asked my interview partners about personal objects they brought with them from Ukraine. Based on their answers, I am assuming that objects with an emotional background are playing a very important role even if they don't have functionality. I guess they can be considered relevant for creating a comfortable environment.

Another interesting finding was that my two interview partners described and seemed to perceive the quality of their room in a very different way. As one points towards the positive aspects of her room and rovises as best as possible, the second person seems to find it very hard to make it a bit cozier for herself. 

The combination of different aspects (dealing with trauma, unstable mental conditions, financial dependency, lack of private space) leads to the fact that co-living situations of refugees (and locals) in many cases do not contribute satisfactorily to their well-being and often do not allow people to engage in their housing situation according to their own needs.

My research has shown me that there are approaches to improve co-living situations in Switzerland. However, I could not find any solution or concept yet that has been developed by or with the involvement of actual affected Ukrainian people and would involve them in the design process via participatory methods. I am interested in the actual needs, wishes and ideas of refugees and possibilities to jointly develop future scenarios for spatial coexistence. 

 4. Framing of the project

4.1. Reflection of my role

While comparing answers from interviews in newspapers with answers I receive in my conversations with people from Ukraine, I noticed that in the first case statements are formulated much softer and less personal. From my point of view, this is where my project has great potential. It is easy for other Ukrainian women in Switzerland to be open to me because we share the same experience of forced migration, fear and grief coming along with this. It gives me the opportunity to get to insights that might not be mentioned. 

Having a background in interior design and architecture I am interested in the correlation between the space refugees live in and how it affects their emotional well-being and mental health. 

4.2. Target group

My project aims to help young women aged from 18 to 25. There are aspects they have in common: belonging to a Generation Z, unemployed or student, legal adulthood, do not live with parents and most likely have not created yet their own family. They are active, open minded and full of energy to adjust in another country, start education or just explore life. 

4.3. Methods

In the first semester I’ve  been testing different methods in order to explore them – I conducted interviews, had a number of informal talks, started to do a literature review and online research  and created a system mapping.

Based on my learnings I consider the combination of following methods as interesting for the further development of my project and possible design solutions: 

• literature review / system mapping  

• mind mapping / mapping 

• interview / focus group interview /  informal talks / survey

• journey mapping / cultural probes

• prototyping / workshop / testing       

My overall goal is to work with methods that allow me to actively involve and empower people affected into the action and participation, so they can define what “better conditions” means for them. 

Basically, the definitive concept should be based on the findings and results from the prototyping and workshops. The outcome could be something that lets people understand the situation better - communication tools, exhibition, etc.

5. Next steps

Due to personal circumstances, I am taking a break in studies for the spring semester. As the war will probably not be over in the near future, my topic will not lose its relevance. With my project in mind I will talk to people in Ukraine to have a different perspective but also to hear stories of people that experienced being a refugee and came back to their country of origin.