Ties Booisma

Statushuis

the connection to a generous city
 

Asylum applicants must have the opportunity to be full participants in society. Facilitating the right accommodation plays an essential role in this. 

The discourse in the Netherlands regarding asylum applicants tends to focus on the problems and negative aspects. While there are great opportunities for the knowledge and qualities of newcomers to flourish. Currently, there is no vision for the accommodation of newcomers. In addition, many problems arise during the asylum procedure due to the manner of accommodating. 

With my project, het Statushuis, I offer an alternative for accommodating newcomers in society. The challenge: How can an asylum centre contribute to the possibility of integrating into society, improving the well being of the inhabitants and be an answer to the logistic challenges? 

Through embedded research, I was able to properly relate to this assignment and the target group. Conducting interviews and workshops with employees and residents of an asylum centre provided direction for defining the design brief.  

Besides that I volunteered at the MS Galaxy (asylum centre) for 3 months and was able to experience up close who lives there, how people live, what the needs are and what motivates them. 

With my project, het Statushuis, I offer a utopian alternative for today. Statushuis is a network of proportional accommodations, visible in the city, that besides housing newcomers, is a place for interaction between the residents and the environment. Connecting, both socially and physically, creates collectivity and shapes identity. 

Het Statushuis is a liveable accommodation that responds to fluctuating asylum requests through a modular system. The cornercast, the connecting vertex, symbolises the essence of the plan. The collective characteristics expressed at both the urban level and in the smallest detail of the plan. The cornercast is reflected in various elements of the building, creating the possibility for the building to breathe and change. 



Graduation date: 20 February 2025
Graduation committee: Paul Kuipers (mentor), Patrick Roegiers, Lena Knappers
Additional members for the exam: Susana Constantino, Renzo Sgolacchia