Guardian of the South Gate and Threshold to Opportunity: An Immigrant’s Refuge and Prospect Rachel Landsberger - Prof. Michael McCloskey
In response to the enormous number of immigrants seeking opportunity and sanctuary in the United States, particularly the unaccompanied children flooding the US/Mexico border, this thesis addresses the following architectural concepts in the service of creating a memorable yet pragmatic immigration facility: prospect and refuge, threshold, path to place, the known and the unknown, and culture and identity. The purpose of the facility is while immigrants and refugees are waiting for their immigration paperwork/process to be completed, to offer them a place of shelter and hospitality and provide them with the necessary skills to be productive citizens, no matter how long their stay may be at the facility. Based on the concepts noted above, the objective of this thesis is to create an architecture that welcomes and embraces the diversity of the immigrants and the skills, knowledge, and traditions that they bring with them, while introducing them to values and aspirations of their new country, as they can be poetically, pragmatically, and responsibly imbedded into memorable architecture. This thesis will prove that through sensitive and conscientious design, the well-being, both mentally and physically, of current and future refugees and immigrants travelling to the US will be improved phenomenally, and that these people will experience the reputable American morals of hospitality, thoughtfulness, respect, and equality as they are making their way to their new nation, ultimately resulting in better citizens and a better United States.
Landsberger - 1 - Introduction