Design Research on Temporary Homes

Temporary Homes focuses on questions of home, identity, and modes of inhabitation in relationship to asylum seekers and political refugees in Milan, Italy. The design research takes into account people's complex and diverse cultural backgrounds and individual needs and aims to connect so-called "reception centres" in Italy to the wider urban and social context. Projects address issues of temporary residence, multi-cultural co-habitation, the need for privacy and interpersonal relationships, in order to develop more hospitable and welcoming design proposals.

Dr Agnese Rebaglio is a designer, researcher and Assistant Professor at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. Rebaglio is a member of the Design for Hospitable City research team (DHOC), which develops interiors and urban spaces that create hospitable environments through innovative services and models of re-using abandoned spaces in the contemporary city. Dr Elena E. Giunta is a designer, art-therapist and research fellow at the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. As a member of GIDE (Group of International Design Education) and co-coordinator of the International Master "Urban Interior Design" her research focuses on the specific implications of intangible assets arising from places and artifacts.