VOVER YOUR CITY CHILDREN WILL FLY

Levitating PTSD Daycare for Refugees Children

Site: Vienna, Austria

BARC0135 - Tutors: Dan Wilkinson, Ifi Liangi

December 2019

Individual Work

Austria accepted a record of 24,000 refugees in 2016. Over half of the refugees who enter Austria are under the age of eighteen. A 14 day procedure is required prior to the acceptance and relocation of each refugee who enters Austria. In order to ease the pressure on the Austrian government, the building provides shelter over duration of the displacement period.

The Flakurm der Freude, which translates to the Flak Tower of Joy is a PTSD treatment and care center situated in the city center of Vienna for children fleeing from warzones.

The facility transmutes the city’s architectural legacy of conflict informed by Nazi and Hasburg fortifications into a space of comfort and healing through the use of pneumatics informed by The Inflatable Moment. Over the period of 14 days, the building grows and inflates and crevices at the joy of the children to reveal new spaces of therapy.

Informed by Anselm Kiefer’s war structures and The Montessori Method that assists children in communication through play, the building encourages children to play and learn in a peaceful environment adapted from war architecture.

VIENNA’S WAR ARCHITECTURE

Flak Towers in Vienna [War-documentary.info] Re-purposed Flak Towers [Shutterstock]

In recent years, a few of the city’s Flak Towers have been re-purposed, leading to this proposal for the remaining towers.

SPLITTING THROUGH & SHEDDING LIGHT ON TRAUMA

KEY STAGES

Bunker 599 [ArchDaily]

Inspired by Bunker 599, the heavy concrete structures of war are split apart to be prescribed with a new program. The use of pneumatics looks to provide a comfortable and playful environment for the children.

ADAPTING TO THE CHILDREN’S PLAY-STYLE

Diagrams based on physical models illustrate a change between states in effort to reflect the unstable landscape of war zones. Instead of modern playgrounds, they played in ruins. To ease them into the city, the building introduces them to a familiar context, but one of peace and comfort, and transformations that inspire joy and play.

Displacing The Mass

Modern Air Wedge [Ergonomic Partners]

Physical Model: Heavy Duty Air Wedge - Metal, Reinforced Latex, Foam Mesh

Informed by modern pneumatic lifting technologies, the model studies the combination of soft and rigid materials, catering to both the children and the Flaks.

As the children engages in activities around the building, their movements feed into the inflation of the building, generating new play-spaces.

Scale - 1:1000

HELIUM CIRCULATION

CHILDREN CIRCULATION STAFF CIRCULATION

Level 01 acts as the entrance for children, teachers, and helium. Three differently colored routes show the three circulations.

Level 05 focuses on EMDR therapy. Children are invited to participate in small groups at a time while others enjoy physical activity in the Activity Room or explore views of the city through the Outdoor View-ports informed by demolished Hasburg Bastions.

Level 10 is outdoor-focused and introduces the children to a camping experience. They sleep in semi-outdoor chambers either with other children or with the staffs in the Share Sleeping Chamber.