FROM COLLECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT IN A REFUGEE SHELTER TO A SOLUTION FOR MORE PRIVACY
BASIC TRACK WINTER // TERM 2015/16
THE SOLUTION
PROTOTYPE PITCH In our research phase we have explored that most inhabitants of the emergency shelter miss privacy due to the fact that there is no private room in the camp. Based on that insight we have developed the following prototype:
THE CORNER is a modular and versatile wall system which consists out of L-shaped corners. It allows to reorganize the common areas in the shelter in order to create personal and private spaces for the inhabitants. Each corner is built out of 2 walls which are connected with hinges and is therefore foldable. These corners can be arranged individually in a room or be connected to further elements in order to build bigger modules around the existing shelter furniture. With this prototype it is possible to turn open spaces into highly flexible areas. The modules can be adjusted to any need whether to surround a couch or a table with chairs. It functions as a subdivision device for open and big rooms. As the shelter’s sleeping compartments have no doors or ceiling people don’t have the chance to be on their own. THE CORNER creates flexible, private spaces and is a place of retreat and a refuge for who is constantly exposed to hundreds of other people.
IMAGE / Top: Couches in common area without THE CORNER; IMAGE / Middle and bottom: two options how THE CORNER could be used to change the place
The prototype possesses mainly three functions:
PRIVACY + FLEXIBILITY + NOISE REDUCTION
Each wall is constructed around a wooden frame which is filled with insulation wool and is covered by MDF boards to reduce the high noise level in the camp. This was a crucial need of many people, especially when they want to read or learn because the cabin walls are very thin. Thus, even in the sleeping areas it is still very noisy and it was essential for the prototype to improve this situation. In total the walls of THE CORNER are around 4cm thick. To make the corners cozier there is the chance to attach a fabric roof to the walls if you connect two corners in order to design a proper room feeling. Otherwise the already existing parasols can be used as a roof. In addition, the walls of THE CORNER can be painted or beautified by the kids in the camp to make them look more inviting.
This is the simplest and cheapest version of THE CORNER though. Future modification includes the possibility to design these wall elements customizable depending on the needs of the shelter and inhabitants. Equipment with e.g. lights, bookshelves, trash bins, etc. is conceivable.
PROTOTYPE PURPOSE The Shelter houses about 300 people – including many children – coming from many different cultural and educational backgrounds. The small rooms are shared by 6 people who most likely do not know each other and for security reasons there are no ceilings and no doors. The common areas come together as one big and open shared space for all the inhabitants. The whole Traglufthalle is permeated by constant noise and movement due to the lack of division between different areas – children playing, people eating and talking and
kicker games share the same big hall –, making it really hard to concentrate or focus in any kind of individual or small group activity, besides lacking in privacy in general. We came to realize that - because of all this - the people in the shelter don’t feel at home and as long as they have this feeling, they won’t take care of the space or feel responsible for it. The prototype developed to fulfill the user’s needs for privacy and feelings of homeliness was THE CORNER. It is an L-shaped, foldable,
IMAGE / Left: View along the main axis in the shelter. Left-hand side: common area with couches and parasols
modular structure which can be combined in many different ways in order to create private and silent spaces making use of the already existing furniture in the shared space of the shelter. It offers a temporary and adaptable private space in bigger, common areas. From what we observed in the shelter, the main practical uses for THE CORNER were studying,
IMAGE / Up: Prototype attached to table being used by the kids in quiet activities
skyping, reading, quiet children’s activities such as drawing or simply having some quiet and private time with friends. Due to its versatility, however, we recognize the prototype to have many other potential uses if applied in other similar spatial contexts such as big offices or innovative working spaces which demand for movable or temporary furniture.
PROTOTYPE FUNCTIONS The modular L-shaped structures can be assembled and combined in order to create ÂŤ half-rooms Âť around existing furniture, offering either a temporary private office, a table for children to draw or just a cozy, small room to relax on the couch.
IMAGE / left: detail of prototype function: Noise cancellation by acoustic insulation
Due to its light weight and folding feature, it is easy to move it around and rearrange it. Another important function of the prototype is noise-reduction: the walls are filled with noise-reducing isolation material, contributing to the feeling of privacy and possibility to concentrate in one individual or small group activity.
IMAGE / right: THE CORNER, as first planned in a U-shaped arrangement, on location in Berlin Traglufthalle.
PROTOTYPE AESTHETICS The prototype in its first (U-shaped) arrangement represents two corners in opposition to each other, encapsulating a space of approximately 190 x 95 cm (W x D), up to the height of 170 cm. Despite the simplicity of the construction, the wooden cover plates from finegrained medium density fiberboard (MDF) provide a clean and smooth surface appearance. When illuminated from the back, some undesirable rays of light fall through, where the single elements are connected to each other with hinges.
Apart from that, the construction is blocking close to all horizontal light from the sides and behind, and to some extent also the light with an oblique angle of incidence, resulting in a reduced light intensity inside. The edges enable a peek at the bright
pinewood frame, containing the insulation material, which is hidden from the viewer. The four wall elements seem to be quite stable and surprisingly torsional rigid, both as single elements and in the final body.
IMAGE / left: The edges of THE CORNER reveal the sandwich structure of the pinewood frame, countered by a medium density fiberboard (MDF) from each side. IMAGE / down: Frame construction, which is hidden inside the elements, giving the stability
IMAGE / up: The top edges - a “touch point” for the youngest users. IMAGE / right: The edges of THE CORNER reveal the sandwich structure of the pinewood frame, countered by a medium density fiberboard (MDF) from each side.
IMAGE / up: detail showing connectors to link several elements of THE CORNER IMAGE / left: frame construction, which is hidden inside the elements, giving the stability. IMAGE / right: concrete possible use case with 3 Couches. Adds extra stabilization of the CORNER.
PROTOTYPE USE CASES Given the versatility of the wall system, resulting from the flexible adjustment of the angles between the walls, and the option to daisy-chain a fourth and fifth element, the prototype permits a great variety of possible use cases in a temporary home for refugees.
Furthermore, taking into consideration the possibility to combine THE CORNER with all sorts of furniture, including couches, tables, chairs, bookshelves, wastebins, lamps and plants, an infinite number of arrangements is possible.
Thinking beyond the use of THE CORNER in temporary refugee homes, a lot of other application fields open up. The solution is ideal for all spaces undergoing frequent changes, e.g. where different users have different needs to rest, work, and play in the same area at the same time or where a certain group of people changes their mode of action (ir)regularly.
Use cases could be: _ HPI D-School _ Congress venues _ Coworking spaces _ Bureaus, or the enterprise sector in general _ Other educational institutions, including schools and universities
IMAGE / left: Concrete possible use case of L-shaped CORNER with table. In this way, a massive area of 285 x 95 cm (W x D) is shielded from the surroundings at two sides. IMAGE / right, up: Possible use case with several couches and modules of THE CORNER on a rectangular common area.
IMAGE / right, bottom: Children could draw and paint the walls of THE CORNER, redesigning it together in a nice-looking way
To further increase its flexibility, speed and ease of use of the solution, it could be feasible to mount all furniture, including THE CORNER on wheels. In combination with a yet to design Snap-in mechanism for quick coupling and uncoupling of arrays of walls our solution still leaves plenty of scope for iteration.
THE DESIGN THINKING PATH
UNDERSTAND From the beginning on, we tried to immerse ourselves as much as possible. Therefore we went to the refugee shelter a multitude of times, supporting the staff with their everyday tasks, interviewing refugees and workers at the camp, taking part in their normal activities.
IMAGE / up: Overview of the Berlin Traglufthalle in a day of regular activities.
Our initial challenge, to care about waste management, suggested that the place was supposed be unclean. This was refuted on our first arrival at the camp. Although mindless behaviour during lunchtime or leisure time lead to a slightly increased level of trash, which was not surprising, but similar to a cafeteria in a Hostel during lunch-time. By the staff at the shelter, this was considered to be a problem, as it created more work for the employees and volunteers. The usage of non-recyclable resources, e.g. plastic cups, added to the amount of trash in and around of the shelter.
IMAGES / left: Empathy work and immersion at the shelter
With these analogies in mind, our team also went to hostels and kindergartens to gather more information on how these institutions deal with their guests and with the work that comes with them.
The refugees on the other hand criticised the place’s unhomeliness. Additionally, the information presented at the shelter was scattered and insufficient.
We considered this lack of feeling at home as one of the biggest points of A good starting point for interaction at the shelter was engaging with the teen- friction at the shelter and thus we tried agers, and through that, getting to know to find a solution as for how to make the the adults. From our project partner, the guests at the shelter feel at home and Berliner Stadtmission, staff-workers Maj- with this making them engage and take di, Lara and Kathy helped us a great deal care of the space the life in. to get to know the people at the camp and to learn about the everyday processes and structures. Reis, a 16-year-old Syrian living in the shelter, supported us by doing interpretation work and introduced us to the people at the shelter. We also had great help from Amer Alattar of HPI School of Design Thinking who was doing Arabic translations for us. In the course of conducting our interviews with the staff and refugees, it became apparent that the staff would expect the refugees to better care for the place, as it was their new temporary home then.
IMAGE / right: Overwhelming and confusing information throughout the camp due to chaotic use of pictogram signs
SYSTHESIS AND SENSE MAKING I am living in a bathroom. Refugee
What is it that people here really want? Just give them a door they can lock, just give them some privacy. Syrian volunteer
I am not your servant. Volunteer in housekeeping
IMAGE / up: The Shelter represents an air-supported hall (“Traglufthalle”), which is shaped by a constant stream of pressurized air and therefore can’t have windows. Entrance and exit are only possible via airlocks.
Despite the efforts of our project partner’s work, our team experienced the overall atmosphere in the shelter “Traglufthalle” as noisy, stuffy and restless, due to many factors (e.g. no windows for fresh air and no bearing walls for separation of the space or for noise reduction - all as a consequence of the construction of the hall being air-inflated). We discovered two surprising contradictions: first, on the one hand, the refugees wanted to work (e.g. asking the staff to help cleaning the canteen area) and the staff wanted them to take on more responsibility (e.g. reminding the refugees to take care of their rooms and the waste disposal on their own) but on the other hand the staff did not allow them to do so on a regular and self-determined basis. Second, in terms of the conditions at the shelter, waste was not a very relevant topic for the refugees, whereas parts of the staff experienced waste as one of the main issues. The refugees instead were most bothered by the lack of personal privacy (sleeping cabins for 6 people being strangers to each other, without roofs and doors) which could not be alleviated by our project partner. It was then when we understood much better why the adults were sitting and chatting in the relaxation area while the
children were playing all over the area, seeking for activity and attention. Concerning the first contradiction, a closer look at the communication system in the shelter made clear that laws and duties were not communicated clear enough to the refugees (e.g. misleading signs, language difficulties) and we also discovered why their scope of duties was minimized by the staff (reasons being e.g. safety and to avoid formation of hierarchies). Concerning the second contradiction, we found out that there were limits for extension of privacy because of fire prevention regulations (e.g. sleeping cabins may not have a door or a ceiling for easier detection in case of fire). This current dynamic - the refugee’s constant search for activity on the one hand and a bit of privacy and relaxation on the other hand - lead to boredom and irresponsibility but most importantly: an emotion of not feeling at home. Our team experienced this dilemma also in the observation that the refugees were treated more like children than grownups.
FRAMEWORKS We first gathered all available information on post-its and clustered them. Our insights provided us with several starting points. We decided to take a closer look at the refugees’ arrival and first orientation in the shelter because we felt this would be a crucial moment. Therefore we tried to reproduce the user journey. The
framework made clear that a functioning communication system is an absolute must. The idea of improving the already existing sign-system was born. It also would have included the improvement of signs that showed the people how to deal with trash.
We also used Venn diagrams to gain a true understanding of the challenge. It showed that the German society and the project partner (who is a part of first) agree on the fact that waste management is a crucial point of being German. Integration of refugees into German society is therefore somehow supposed to shift the refugees’ attention
more towards caring about waste separation, finally resulting in a bigger intersection of the behavior of the three groups.
Later on we used a 2x2 framework. We wanted to identify if the standards of cleanliness were correlated to the length of the stay in the shelter and if a common level of cleanliness was established. We gained the insight that for a short stay (e.g. one to three days), the people would probably experience the shelter as clean (enough), maybe also compared to other accommodations they had lived in, and therefore had no reason to feel that an improvement was needed. If they stayed longer (e.g. for several month), the awareness of the waste issue and the uncleanliness in the restrooms increased, accompanied with the need for a clean surrounding. Due to a lack of communication and possibilities to take action independently (e.g. free accessible tools for cleaning), this need is not satisfied and a conflict between the staff and the people living in the shelter is born.
To identify more contradictions we worked with nugget frames. We found that: _ it is hard to establish a common cleanliness level if 300 people with different standards share one home _ refugees shall separate waste but have no knowledge of the German system waste management is a central part of integration and the refugees want to be integrated _ the camp management sees a problem in the way the waste management currently functions but the refugees do not _ the refugees shall manage their daily life in the shelter on their own but the information how to do so is passed along insufficiently _ the shelter suffers from bad verbal/ visual communication because the signs used are chaotic or there is a lack of information _ even if appropriate signs are available, there are no consequences in case you ignore them _ the refugees want to be engaged more but working or caring for things on your own is not possible IMAGES / down: overview of the room areas and the inside of the rooms with bunker beds.
FOR WHOM ARE YOU DESIGNING? We were designing for approximately 300 people with different cultural and religious backgrounds. They are living together in a temporary home in which some stay just a night, others for several months. Some people are coming alone, whereas others are coming with their families and bring their children or sick family members. They feel a great need for a secure and certain place to arrive in Germany and arrange their new lives in an unknown country. They are also in need for privacy to recover and guidance to carry on with their lives as independent as possible.
IDEA SPECTRUM Through the project’s design thinking journey, many ideas were considered before our solution was found and further developed, the first ones still concerning the waste management issue. Listed below are some of those previous ideas: _ tackle the waste issue through gamification, creating a trash bin that looks like a waste monster in order to make children want to separate waste by playing; _ replacing the plastic cups by reusable ones to avoid the unecessary amount of plastic waste _ training refugees as staff-members and train other people in the shelter in terms of waste separation _ redesigning the signs that are used in the shelter using only graphic language (avoiding translation in many different languages).
TEAM: THE WASTED
MEMBERS Mario Völker
Humboldt-Universtität zu Berlin, Germany Informatik (B.Sc.) voelker.mario@gmail.com
Katharina Vogel
Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft Berlin, Germany Kultur- und Medienpädagogin (B.A.) Museumsmanagerin und -kommunikatorin (M.A.) katharina_vogel@gmx.net
Jan von der Heyde
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Germany (Alumnus)
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (M.Sc.) jan_vdh@gmx.de
Maximilian von Thadden
University of Arts Berlin, Germany Communication in Social and Economic Contexts max-th@msn.com
Clara Juliano
Estate University of Rio de Janeiro – Superior School of Design, Brazil Integrated Design clarajuliano@gmail.com
COACHES Marie Klooker Andrea Scheer Lucas Paes de Melo
PROGRAM MANAGERS Dr. Claudia Nicolai
Academic Director claudia.nicolai@hpi.de
Christine Schnaithmann Track Manager christine.schnaithmann@hpi.de
CREDITS Hasso-Plattner-Institute School of Design Thinking Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str.2-3 D-14482 Potsdam Germany
Phone: +49-331-5509-123 Email: office-d-school@hpi.de Web: www.hpi.de/d-school These ideas were created by a multidisciplinary team of students at the HPI School of Design Thinking.