Displaced Empire

May 16, 2021 in 2021

Displaced Empire is a speculative installation based on the Al Azraq Refugee Camp in Jordan, reimagining it as the capital of a near-future world shaped by displacement, scarcity, and climate crisis. Through collaboratively designed tents, architectural artifacts, and personal narratives, the project explores the ingenuity of Syrian refugees who adapt and humanize standardized humanitarian shelters—transforming them into spaces of identity, resilience, and creative world-building.

Glass Helmet

January 01, 2021 in 2021

The Glass Helmet is a component of the Silk Road Works (2021). As a symbol of protection for workers in the building industry, the helmet represents a sanctuary where their rights are safeguarded, and their well-being is prioritized; the vulnerability of these rights is reflected in the fragility of the glass material. The blue color of the helmet also evokes the United Nations' Blue Helmets, symbolizing the importance of international peacekeeping efforts and the protection of global stability. The Glass Helmet represents a call for the creation of inclusive, supportive environments that provide a sense of security and belonging for all in the face of global challenges.

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s_20210225_163754Photo by Sandrine Welte.jpg

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Silk Road Works

January 01, 2021 in 2021

“Silk Road Works” is a symbolic construction site for a pluralist society. The project deploys architectural storytelling to offer a border reflection on issues of migration, labor, and identity politics along the Silk Road in history and today. Three responses to the Biennale theme “How will we live together?” are assembled through three Silk-Road themed architectural wearables: construction workers’ safety vests made of silks from various regions of the Silk Road, coveralls made of Venetian Rubelli fabric, and hard hats made by Murano glass masters of blue glass.