Camp Layout: Kara Tepe is the second largest refugee camp situated on the island of Lesbos. More than 70% percent of the camp population are below the age of 15.
Reporting From the Field at The Gallery at VCUQatar, January-March 2018. Curated by Maja Kinnemark & Aris Papadoupolis, Exhibition Design: Maja Kinnemark in collaboration with VCU students and alumni.
The war in Syria has forced millions of people to leave their homes, and more than 850,000 of those have crossed to Europe via Lesbos.
The show displays design outcome of Core Relief: a design workshop that took place Kara Tepe refugee camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece, October 2016. The aim for the workshop was to establish Innovative design solutions to improve the situation in the camps
A study of impromptu solutions to design problems that arise in the camp. We found a number of smart inventions, despite the scarcity of resources, designed by people living in the camp. (Photo: M. Konstantinopoly)
The theme for the exhibition design mirrors the way that the innovation lab works in the camp, where digital fabrication methods are used to extend the function of the few sparse objects available.
A good example is the display furniture that modify the existing connectors from the actual shelters in the camp to make a new exhibition structure for the show in the gallery.
Innovative design solutions extending the function of a standardized water bottle provided by UNHCR. The collapsible bottle is part of a set of core relief items that every person entering the camp is entitled to.
The innovation lab in the camp brings people together with aid organizations and designers by using 3D printers and open-source software to find innovative design solutions for housing, hygiene or other structural problems.
Left: The Drinking Cap allows for a standard drinking tip to be attached to the standard collapsible water bottle. Material 3D print. Right: The Fair Cap is a water purifying cap that incorporate a cleaning filter mechanism that is commonly used in camping.
An interactive installation in which 200 umbilical cord clips are being fabricated on site with the 3D printer.
The small clip is a good example of an item that saves lives in a camp, and for which the 3D printer is a perfect production method.
It takes only a few minutes to print the clip on site in camp, and the cost is close to nothing, as opposed to expensive import.
The Mediterranean Sea and the island of Lesbos in proximity to Turkey. Lesbos is only a 4,5 kilometers away from mainland Turkey.
Installation with photos by Yannis Behrakis/REUTERS
The story behind the two large photos an the wall by Yannis Behrakis/REUTERS
A standard refugee family tent was erected adjacent to the exhibition. The tent was used as a gathering spot for arranged tours for visitors. A fly over of the camp was projected on the table top from above.
Reporting From the Field was awarded the second most popular show over the past 20 years history of The Gallery at VCUQatar
A panel discussion dedicated to humanitarian innovation marked the inauguration of the exhibition.
The exhibition was designed and executed by students and alumni from the Interior Design program at VCUQatar. All pieces in the show have been fabricated by the students in our digital fabrication lab at VCUQatar. Photo: Markus Elblaus