Displacement; a mass of women's refugee stories conveyed through one

Our project explores women's spatial experiences when forced to flee. What does it entail to exist in vulnerable spaces and places? How can architecture aid? With 130 million people displaced globally, we concentrate the broader crisis into one woman's narrative. Originating from a first-hand interview, conducted by us, the project details her journey from leaving home to facing uncertain and temporary shelters, till adapting to life in a diaspora. This was then represented by us through architectural tools and in an exhibition, and further explored through collaborative workshops.

Emerging from a personal, 1:1 interview, the project recounts and represents a woman's journey fleeing from peril to physical safety. Emphasising her personal story over general data. By documenting and representing her refugee story through architectural drawings, models, diagrams, and crafted interventions, our project humanises and deepens our understanding of forced migration while emphasising women’s unique experiences. The approach presents her memories of space in a series of events surrounding four key places in her process of fleeing. By doing this, the architectural representations translate personal recollections into spatial narratives. Our research and methodology were supplemented by holding joint events and workshops. This fostered reflections and discussions on themes of otherness and displacement. A driving force for us was engaging in diverse communities as mediators, facilitators, storytellers, activists, educators, and architects. Ethical concerns regarding consent, agency, and the risk of reinforcing dominant narratives were addressed with careful, bold engagement. Our approach seeks to represent the experiences of those directly affected by displacement sensitively. Through this methodology, the project proposes a novel way to visualise and communicate refugee stories through architecture. It also challenges architectural practice to integrate care, ethics, migration, and decolonial approaches. This project is important for contemporary architectural practice as it pushes boundaries and highlights our profession’s social and ethical responsibilities. By making architecture a transformative force for social justice, empathy, and inclusion, our work underscores the urgent need for architects to engage with pressing global realities.