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Abstract:
This paper brings together different research methods from architecture and social sciences to draw on the empirical findings of a research project (2016–1 9) in Göttingen, a mid-sized city in Lower Saxony. Through architectural ethnography, the article presents the spatial environ-ments and social spaces of the inhabitants of two existing buildings that were transformed temporarily into collective accommodations for asylum seekers and refugees. By focusing on the interiority of these accommodations, the article showcases the physical and social dimen-sions of the architectural space and the diverse actors that make these spaces. It demon-strates the fundamental interdependencies of the spatial layouts of refugee accommodations with modalities of their internal transformation and with the inhabitation practices of their inhabitants.The article highlights how architectural design and spatial layouts result in differential access to services, resources, and social experiences, and exemplifies their role in the levels of exclusion and stigmatization that refugees experience in the first phase after arrival in the host country.
