Architizer: Venice Biennale 2016: 4 Remarkable Architectural Responses to Humanitarian Crises

“BLUE: The Architecture of UN Peacekeeping Missions presents Camp Castor (Gao, Mali), designed, constructed and deployed by 450 Dutch soldiers, as a case study. BLUE refers to the color of U.N. helmets and the local Tuareg people’s indigo-dyed clothing.
 It’s evident that simple reconfigurations of U.N. camps, for example locating hospitals on their perimeters rather than centrally to provide healthcare to local people more readily, would be of lasting benefit. The goal in designing bases should be to leave behind an infrastructure legacy when missions depart, empowering local communities to reconstruct their environments.”

Review by Colin Martin

Photographs: Iwan Baan

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