An Unhostile Environment
Jas Bhalla Architects with All People All Places and Sheffield University
Creating unhostile environments for retreat, recovery and re-emergence
Britain’s obsession with the small boats ‘crisis’ illustrates how those fleeing persecution are made to feel unwelcome. Immigration is continuously shown to be of benefit to the UK economy, yet refugees are treated as a drain on society. The current asylum system consciously seeks to create a ‘hostile environment’, increasing marginalisation and exclusion.
If improving economic outcomes were at the heart of our society’s approach to immigration, the process for integrating and rehousing asylum seekers would be defined by compassion, understanding, and empathy. An Unhostile Environment imagines a system that seeks to find practical solutions to the plight of those in search of a better life, rather than one driven by xenophobia, contempt and disdain. Its new housing will be designed to relieve mental and physical trauma (as opposed to exacerbating it), empowering asylum seekers to make a positive socio-economic contribution to UK society.
The concept is rooted in a comparative analysis between the current ‘hostile’ asylum system and an alternative model that understands how new homes and facilities can help individuals to retreat, recover and finally emerge from past trauma. Embedded in research – both academic and practical – the proposal recognises that new homes for migrant groups must be sensitively integrated within established communities to ensure newcomers have access to familiar amenities and support. Focusing on the plight of Iranian, Iraqi, and Afghan refugees, a site in Dollis Hill, London was selected using census data identifying higher concentrations of these communities, ensuring the specific needs of end users lies at the heart of the concept.
Jas Bhalla Architects
Jas Bhalla, Architect
Emer Loraine, Architect
Karolina Dudek, Architectural Assistant
Kathryn Goligher, Architectural Assistant
All People All Places
George Dunstall, Homeless Charity CEO, Advisor on Homelessness
University of Sheffield
Dr Thea Shahrokh, Academic, Social Justice and Refugee Research
Ryan Powell, Academic, Housing, Citizenship and Stigmatisation
