Turn vacant office buildings into emergency villages

On March 15, an opinion piece by Gideon Boie and Lieven De Cauter appeared in De Standaard, in which they respond to the government's plans to build emergency villages for (Ukrainian) refugees. They propose vacant real estate in cities as a solution, rather than remote temporary housing. Numerous architects and architecture organizations, such as the Flemish Architecture Institute, signed the open letter.

The war in Ukraine is not only a humanitarian problem; it is also a housing problem. The Flemish government aims to create 18,000 reception places by the end of March, starting with 6,000 places this week. To this end, it is looking at vacant holiday parks, nursing homes, monasteries, and social housing.

Using vacant buildings is a fine idea, but the need for larger collective reception facilities remains. Our country is expected to accommodate an estimated 120,000 fleeing mothers and children. State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Sammy Mahdi proposed creating emergency villages, and the Flemish Government has taken up that challenge. How many villages will be built and where is not yet fixed. What is clear, however, is that they will be spread across Flanders, and that each village will comprise around 250 housing units.

"The hospitality of Flemish families is impressive, but major real estate players must also express their solidarity with the refugees."

It sounds good, but the plan threatens to turn into an ecological and social disaster – at least if we adopt the same spatial approach as with the emergency reception centers for Syrian refugees in 2015. Those camps were usually organized far from inhabited areas, often on abandoned military sites, such as Vlasmeer near Hechtel-Eksel. Setting up a camp for 300 residents was a major logistical undertaking, involving emergency containers on a concrete expanse.

Meeting space

Now the government has the chance to tackle it differently. Our cities have more than enough useful empty floor space. In Brussels alone, there are 6 million square meters of permanent vacancy. It primarily concerns public or privately owned office buildings. All together, this represents the same surface area as an average municipality in Brussels. Cities like Ghent and Antwerp are struggling with structural vacancy as well, buildings that can be quickly converted into habitable units.

Creating accommodation in vacant offices reduces the ecological footprint of the operation and saves time and costs. The advantage is that all technical facilities are already in place; there is water, electricity, and sewage. Cafeterias and meeting spaces are also often already present. Thus, there is enough room for social and psychological support.

An additional benefit is that the emergency villages would be well embedded in the existing social fabric. The refugees would have direct access to social facilities such as shops, sports, culture, and public transport. Proximity is necessary for direct support. The emergency village must be a place where Ukrainians can meet their compatriots and where Flemish host families can turn for support. The hospitality of Flemish families is impressive, but it is time for major real estate players to also express their solidarity with Ukrainian refugees and take on the challenge of creating emergency villages. It is the ideal opportunity to polish their image. The buzz generated around vacant buildings can also benefit the real estate market.

The Ukrainian refugee issue can give new momentum to buildings that have been vacant for years and can revitalize office districts after they have been in a comatose state for years. Smaller cities and municipalities can create vertical villages on a smaller scale, for example in vacant schools or monasteries. The most important thing is that the emergency shelters serve a core-strengthening function and can thus contribute to spatial policy in Flanders.

A roof over one's head

The first concern is a roof over one's head, Prime Minister Jan Jambon (N-VA) rightly stated. But even when there is an emergency, a well-considered spatial policy must be pursued. Too often, emergency facilities are built only to disappear afterwards. The government must already be thinking about what will happen to the infrastructure later. For instance, the operation could serve as a trial run for projects combining office and residential functions. The emergency facilities could also serve as social housing later on.

A camp director of the old emergency reception center in Hechtel-Eksel showed a graph with an inverted triangle: the first priority was sleeping and eating, then psychosocial support, and the final and most difficult challenge was integration and human dignity. The camp director said: ‘We are organizing our own problem every time.’ The camp was closed down as early as 2016. The remaining refugees had to move to a holiday park in Houthalen.

If there is anything to be learned from the spatial approach to the crisis in 2015, it is that we must turn the humanitarian triangle upside down: human dignity must be the foundation. Isolating Ukrainian refugees in remote emergency villages will alienate these traumatized people even more. It is more humane and welcoming to accommodate them in the heart of our cities and municipalities. The fact that it is also more economical and ecological is a welcome bonus.

Signed by:

Gideon Boie, Lieven De Cauter and the Master’s students ‘Architecture and Activism’ from the Faculty of Architecture, KU Leuven.

Co-signed by:

Olivier Bastin (former Master Architect Brussels)

Sofie De Caigny (Director of the Flemish Architecture Institute)

Stefan Devoldere (former Flemish Government Architect)

Christian Rapp (City Architect of Antwerp, Professor at TU/e, founder of Rapp+Rapp)

Marcel Smets (former Flemish Government Architect)

Peter Swinnen (former Flemish Government Architect)

Leo Van Broeck (former Flemish Government Architect, Professor at KU Leuven, Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects)

Peter Vanden Abeele (City Architect of Ghent)

Erik Wieërs (Flemish Government Architect)