Atelier Craft and ICI! complete triangular migrant shelter in Paris

French studios Atelier Craft and ICI! have designed a triangular day shelter for migrants and refugees in Paris, with a modular timber frame that allows it to be demounted and moved to different sites.

Called Aire de Repos or Rest Area, the shelter is currently located at La Station Gare des Mines, an arts venue in Porte d'Aubervilliers established by Collectif MU that sits close to the site of a migrant camp dismantled by French authorities in 2020.

Aire de Repos is a triangular day shelter for migrants and refugees in Paris

Supported by a social innovation grant from the Région île de France, Paris-based studios Atelier Craft and ICI! worked with the Coucou Crew, an association supporting young migrants, to design the new flexible activity space.

"The Aire de Repos offers an unconditional welcome for young migrants to come and discuss, benefit from psychological support sessions, have a coffee and initiate or participate in cultural activities," explained a statement from La Station Gare des Mines.

It has a modular timber frame

The simple, modular design of Aire de Repos allowed its construction to be a participative process involving the Coucou Crew, which was documented in a short film.

The nature of the frame also allows the size of the final structure to easily be expanded or reduced, with the intention of it being able to transform to suit a range of different sites or be replicated elsewhere in future.

Externally it is covered with corrugated polycarbonate

"The short timeframe set to build the project in a participative manner led us to imagine a simple shape and prefabricated frame in order to assemble the main structure in less than two weeks," explained Atelier Craft.

"In that sense, the triangular form stems from structural and economic principles but also from a symbolic standpoint – based on this single frame the structure can span out depending on the future needs of its users," it continued.

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A small, skylit porch space forms an entrance to the shelter, with the main room left free of any fixings or fittings to be as flexible as possible.

Internally, the high, pitched ceiling of the structure is clad with plywood panels. Externally, it is covered in sheets of corrugated polycarbonate and transparent plastic sheets that are tied to metal poles on the wooden frame.

Plywood panels line the interior

The walls have been infilled with straw insulation. At one end of the structure a rammed earth trombe wall faces the sun, absorbing its heat and slowly releasing it back into the shelter throughout the day.

"The construction as a whole is designed based on bioclimatic principles to regulate the inside temperature in a passive manner," explained the practice.

A skylit porch sits at the structure's entrance

Other examples of structures designed for refugees include a latticed wooden community centre at a camp in Mannheim, Germany, designed by students from the University of Kaiserslautern.

The photography is by Victoria Tanto.

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Looop Can is a sanitary pad washing device for refugees

Product design student Cheuk Laam Wong has created Looop Can, a concept for a portable kit to clean menstruation pads that aims to reduce period poverty among refugees.

Each Looop Can kit includes a container for cleaning, 70 grams of baking soda and a reusable sanitary pad made from bamboo terry fabric called the Looop Pad.

Above: Looop Can kits include a container, baking soda and sanitary pad. Top image: they are designed for women living in refugee camps

Made from a recycled steel can, the washing device can be used to clean sanitary pads with just baking soda and 500 millilitres of water.

The kit has been designed so that women living in refugee camps can easily and discretely wash and dry their sanitary pads.

"Almost 60 per cent of female refugees suffer period-poverty problems as they spend their limited funds on food or nappies for their babies," Cheuk told Dezeen.

"A washing kit for reusable sanitary pads will benefit not only refugees and asylum seekers, but also people who have limited finances and insufficient education about menstrual health management," she continued.

Users insert their pad, add water and baking soda and then spin the container to remove blood

The Looop Can comprises a main cylindrical body with a screw-top lid and a hollow spinning device that can also be used to store the baking soda.

When the sanitary pad requires cleaning, the user places the pad inside the can before immersing it in water and baking soda, a natural cleaning detergent that helps to remove blood stains.

Once the cap has been screwed on, users can spin the device with their finger which requires "minimal human effort so that people who have period cramps can wash easily," the designer explained.

The spinning motion helps the baking soda and water to clean the pad. The user must then wait at least 30 minutes until the blood dissolves, before rinsing the pad three times.

The kits are an alternative to single-use plastic sanitary pads

After interviewing NGOs in Greece refugee camps, Cheuk realised that there was a need for a cheaper, longer-term solution to plastic pads.

"Plastic pads can’t work as they rely on NGOs' constant donation and lack culturally sensitive disposable methods," the designer said.

Although reusable pads are a slightly better alternative, Cheuk found that shared washing machines in refugee camps aren't always available for everyone.

"It means that people need to dry the laundry in their shelter and everyone can see," she explained.

By contrast, the reusable Looop Pads can be hung up to dry indoors and, if cared for properly, can last for up to five years.

According to Cheuk, "this covers the minimum time a refugee is likely to stay in a camp waiting for identity approval".

Each Looop Pad comes in three modular parts: a base made from bamboo terry, a bamboo fleece wing and the pad itself. This is made from a polyester-laminated material – a waterproof fabric used in nappies, diaper bags and mattress covers.

"Through researching the material used in reusable pads, I designed the pad to have separable layers so that they dry quicker regardless of the weather. The quick-drying bamboo fabric became an ideal option," the student explained.

Cheuk wanted the design to be discreet so that women would feel comfortable using the kit

The pads are cut into a rectangular shape so that they don't resemble sanitary pads, something that can help minimise embarrassment and stigma associated with menstrual products.

"When the pad is hung up to dry, it isn’t obvious that it’s a menstruation product, and it only takes half a day to dry indoors," Cheuk said.

With injection moulding, Cheuk believes that the expected total cost for the product – which is currently at a conceptual stage – should be around £3 for the whole set, including the washing parts and pads.

Other designs for refugees include portable kitchens by graduate collective Soup International, which were designed to be used by Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers (SDCAS) for cooking purposes.

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