Designers should stop proposing gimmicky solutions to the refugee crisis such as shelters, apps and emergency clothing, according to speakers at our Good Design for a Bad World talk at Dutch Design Week.
Instead, efforts should be made to the shift the negative narrative around population movements and to help make cities better able to absorb incomers, the panellists said.
"Don't design yet another shelter for refugees," said humanitarian expert Kilian Kleinschmidt.聽"They're not a species. So, there is no need for tech for refugees. Or design for refugees, or architecture for refugees."
Architecture critic Rene Boer described some designers' efforts to help refugees as "more of a gimmick than a structural solution". Boer, who has worked with refugee communities in Amsterdam and elsewhere, said that "micro solutions" such as backpacks fabricated from life jackets were unhelpful. Instead, designers should focus on removing the physical and non-physical barriers that prevent refugees from travelling and integrating.
"How can we un-design some structures or systems that are actually making things worse for refugees"" asked Boer, who is a founder of urban research platform Failed Architecture.
The "refugee crisis" is not a new phenomenon
The conversation was one of five hosted by Dezeen during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven in October, as part of our Good Design for a Bad World series. The panel was convened to d...