Interweaving place: A transitional interior for refugee women and children set in West Broadway, Winnipeg.

Abstract

As the world shifts and changes, so do its people, and every day, more refugees are forced out-of-place, out of their homelands, and into a foreign and unfamiliar context. Many of these refugees are women, single mothers, who along with their children, are set to face many challenges in the process of re-settling into a new cultural landscape. This project is a study on how the design of an interior can aid in the difficult process of transitioning between lands and cultures. Within it, I explore the making of place through the design of a transitional residence for women and children refugees, set within the dynamic urban landscape of West Broadway in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I proceed through this project through an exploration of four conceptual frameworks and examine the project and its users in relation to movement and migration, to boundaries, to the contact zone, and finally to weaving.