The Migrant Accommodation Project
A participatory approach towards engaging migrant workers in the improvement of the dormitory
Hundreds of thousands of low-waged migrant workers live in dormitories scattered around the island. These housing infrastructures are vital to the production and development of the city yet improvements to them have been sluggish. The outbreak of the COVID-19 virus led to heightened scrutiny over dormitory conditions with promises of improvements to be implemented. However, residents of dormitories rarely have their voices heard.
In response to the outbreak, the Here With You–Migrants Helpline, Soap Cycling Singapore, and Migrant Workers Singapore embarked on a participatory research study to better understand migrant workers’ experience of their living conditions. We then employed collaborative solution-finding with migrant members using Lego to create improvement models and partnered with an interior designer to translate workers’ ideas into design concepts that highlight their real-world application potential. This involved a 5-stage process with 2 design concept iterations.
The outcome is a conceptual design encapsulating migrant workers’ preferred dormitory living arrangements. It proposes the following:
Maximum of 6 persons to a room
Minimum of 6 sqm personal area for each resident, total of 114 sqm including shared facilities
Privacy curtains or barriers for each bed.
2 communal ceiling fans and personal fans and windows at the front and end of the rooms
A personal study tables and chair and an individual light
A Floor to ceiling Cupboard space for storage
Ensuite Toilets with 2 showers, water closets and basins to 6 residents.
Ensuite Kitchen with 2 stoves, a dining area and a refrigerator for food storage.
Dedicated Laundry area with at least 3 laundry poles to 6 residents.
Dedicated rooms for resting, recreation and laundry.
The use of more carpentry and laminates for room furnishing to improve feelings of homeliness
Sense-making...
In a talent contest titled ‘Voices from Dormitories’, migrant workers were invited to send in entries sharing their experiences of living in the dormitories.
Click the link below to view the entries.
Studying Problems
From June 2021 to October 2021, we conducted Focus Group Discussion to document living conditions of migrant workers in dormitories during the COVID-19 pandemic. 41 migrant respondents were interviewed.
This segment highlights the main issues migrant workers faced.
Click the link below to read more.
Design Concept 1
We consolidated suggestions made by migrant workers during interviews and submitted them to Kevin Ong from interior design firm, Superfuse Collective to reconceptualize and redesign a dormitory space.
This enabled suggestions for improvements to be visualized and iterated.
Click the link below to read more.
Collaborative
Solution-finding with Lego
Migrant community members were engaged on a collaborative level of participation to refine Design Concept 1 and re-imagine and re-design a dormitory accommodation.
Migrant workers were empowered to choose their medium to facilitate the expression of their ideal dormitory.
Click the link below to read more.
Design Concept 2
Design Concept 2 aggregates migrants’ comments and perspectives from suggestions made during interviews and improvement models into a single conceptual design. It is the second iteration of a reconceptualized dormitory space.
Click the link below to read more.
Comparisons
We make comparisons between migrant workers suggestions and Ministry of Manpower’s New Dormitory Standards
Click the link below to read more.