The Maker Camp
TEAM INFO
Uneeb Ahmad / Angie Salama / Jonathan Edward
PROJECT GOALS
Our research started with the first task, which was to explore the conflicts caused by the access or lack of materials. We presented some examples, breaking materials into tangible and non-tangible categories. "Culture" was a common theme that arose from these examples, which later lead us to our social experiment about combining material such as food with nuances of culture. The conclusions evidently progressed towards the topic of "limited materials". The next step evolved into looking at Refugee camps that have significant limitations in terms of material. After communicating with and researching the camps, a design intervention was produced to allow refugees to better their condition.
CONFLICT & MATERIAL
Experiment
Themes of culture and materials guided us to our next social experiment about bridging gaps between our classmates through food. We picked five colleagues from different cultural backgrounds and with their permission decided to prepare food for them. The challenge was to cook with the limited materials, such as ingredients and utensils that they already had. Since amongst us only Angie was skilled at cooking, she decided to make some Egyptian recipes. However, the cultural ingredients ranged from Russia, Latin America, South Asia and East Asia. The experiment made us appreciate our differences and made us connect because of the rather casual yet intimate nature of the task, that is, to cook for strangers in their kitchens while trying to get to know them.
LIMITED MATERIALS
Reflecting on our previous research, it dawned on us how material plays a significant role in people's lives and how it can be quite relative to cultures. This concluded to us looking at the topic of "Limited Materials" in the context of Refugee camps. We reached out to the camps and did our own research to figure out the conditions there. Some interventions such as the IKEA tents have been installed to improve the quality of life in those camps. However we aimed to conceptualize refugee camps in terms of Fablabs or Makerspace culture and innovate a more comprehensive design solution. Several interviews with the local sources at the camps revealed how the people are hesitant to receive foreign help and would rather strive to make their lives easier by themselves. This became the guiding force for our design intervention.
We proposed the solution as "Maker Camp", combining refugee camps with the concept of maker-spaces. The focus was on enabling the refugees to allow themselves to solve their own problems and create solutions. It would be done so by bringing the essential components of makerspaces and using the available materials at the camp to build a community of makers between camps.
01
The Toolkits are carefully curated to kick-start a makerspace in the refugee camp. They are group together based on essential skill sets and are affordable. Their modular nature allows easy upgrades and gives the freedom to refugees to choose various skill sets.
02
The Space provides spatial guidelines to build a physical landmark for the makercamp from the available materials present at the site. Factors such as zoning, orientation, form, function and related elements are figured out to cater to and adjust accordingly to the context. The space aims to stand out from the rigid grid layout of most camps and thus would be easily identifiable from afar.
SPACE PROCESS
03
The Hub acts as an online platform equipped with resource files, how-to guides and instruction videos, designed to support the camp. The resource library is open-source, allowing anyone to support the cause. The platform also connects different camps with each other, enhancing communication and providing refugees a unanimous platform.
