Rebuilding In Post War Syria

History many times over has shown when war and internal conflicts erupt, communities are forced to flee their homes and leave behind all they cherished until, if ever possible, the time and conditions re-align to return. In such conflict zones with countless uprooted communities news of refugees often gets more coverage in the media. Yet, alongside them are internally displaced people (IDPs) seeking as much help if not more, and not to mention can be significantly larger in number. Research also shows the majority of these groups end up being women and children exacerbating the problem and adding to the urgency. None the less, such post-conflict zones with widespread need seldom receive sufficient support for resettlement, from basic shelter and food to achieving a resemblance of some self-sufficiency. Shelter in post-war zones is a critical issue. But, due to challenging conditions on the ground like shortage of resources against the high demand among others, organizations participating in the rebuilding and assistance effort often resort to temporary and transitional settlements. Unfortunately, such displaced populations end up living in these potentially deteriorating settlements for many years with their lives at a standstill, while support and resources dwindle. The matter of creating shelter being of architecture, a question then follows how can architecture alleviate the problem of resettling displaced populations in post-war zones? And in the process how can it help communities restore what they lost and potentially establish a better future? And is there perhaps a practical approach to resettlement that spurs a positive change in motion to what would be a long process of rebuilding a community and then a nation as a whole? The issue of post-war resettlement being a complicated one, and requiring many hands, this thesis strives to propose a resettlement model from an architectural standpoint. As a case in point, the thesis looks at the extensively damaged city of Raqqa in Syria, following the ongoing civil war of more than 7 years. The thesis furthermore aims to propose a model that can serve as a catalyst towards much-needed rebuilding in this historic city and beyond. Besides this, the thesis makes an effort to identify and translate what post-war resettlement specific to the area in question could mean and design a communal campus at the end of which. Also, contrary to a temporary relief typology, the thesis attempts to break down and respond to some of the contextual issues present through targeted questions of why what and how towards a potentially evolving and flourishing housing and community rebuilding campus.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Architecture

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Architecture

Department dc:contributor.department

Architecture

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Alemnew, Eyob Moges

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Piedmont-Palladino, Susan C.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Kelsch, Paul J.
• Emmons, Paul F.

• Post-war architecture
• Rebuilding
• Housing
• Campus
• Community
• Displacement
• Syria

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:21457

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/94359