From Shelters to Dwellings

In Zaatari camp, Jordan, thousands of Syrian refugees were sheltered in tents and caravans, which they steadily appropriated and turned into dwellings that responded to their social and cultural needs. In this book, Ayham Dalal takes a closer look at this remarkable transformation. He draws on the tension between ''the shelter'' and ''the dwelling'' to unravel how new spaces unfold in between them, where refugees become architects and the camp is dismantled and reassembled.

From Shelters to Dwellings is the first study to uniquely combine ethnographic observations with new architectural research methods, to illustrate in detail how refugees inhabit shelters. It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how camps and shelters are transformed by the powerful act of dwelling.

»In this fascinating study, Ayham Dalal explores how refugee camps are planned, constructed, lived, and then transformed by residents. It is a richly illustrated, engagingly written account that takes seriously the idea of refugees as architects who can transform and appropriate their own homes. Dalal''s book offers a fresh perspective on camps and is based on an impressive, granular research: a rare example of a detailed ethnographic and architectural study of emergency shelter.«

»Ayham Dalal gives an original and new perspective on refugee camps in the Middle East, centered on refugees'' experience. I highly recommend reading his book for everyone who is interested in the transformation of refugee camps and the crucial role of refugees in adapting to constraints.«