Playspace
Sponsored by the Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center
Collaboration with Ramzi Naja and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA)
Summer 2017
This work provided visual representation of the Dalhamiyeh refugee camp and its relationship to nearby cities, the surrounding landscape, and other camps or informal settlements. The goal was to identify site challenges for the BSA Syria Initiative—an effort to address the need for child-focused public space facilities that could improve the quality of life for Syrian refugee families in Lebanon. This need was addressed through the design and construction of a playground in the Bekaa Valley in collaboration with Lebanese designers and non-profits. The site analysis drawings supported this effort and will serve as a guide for other organizations seeking to replicate the project.
The vision of the BSA Syria Initiative is scalability and replication. The project began with one site in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, but the goal was to expand and build multiple playgrounds each year in the areas where public space is most needed.
The remoteness of the site has resulted in a severe lack of public gathering space for the refugees in this camp. The playground will allow for a space where children and their families can meet regularly, play, collaborate, and converse.
