Overcoming the refuge: rebuilding Cegrane Sam Smith D uring the Kosovo crisis, the Cegrane Refugee Camp, close to the Kosovo border became the biggest refugee camp since World War Two. After the Balkans peace agreement in June 1999 and the subsequent departure of many of the refugees returning to their homes in Kosovo, the United Nations High Commisioner for Refugees undertook the rehabilitation of all the camp sites in Macedonia. The small Muslim village of Cegrane had been left with a 50 hectare site full of post-refugee junk—canvas tents, tent poles, lice ridden blankets, fencing mesh, razor wire, generator shelters, pallets. The project was to design and implement a site that was self-sustaining. This included on-site water via a 7.2 kilometre system of wells and swales (able to hold up to 40 million litres of water), reforesting and stabilising the site with 18 000 trees of which 3 000 were a mixed fruit tree orchard, planting mixed vegetable gardens and building an education centre, office buildings and student accomodation.With time, the vision was to incorporate housing for the local community who would also the manage the centre. My role as part of the Australian contingent was that of Site Architect. The brief I was to design an eco-village and all of the main structures within, document the buildings, procure the necessary local government permits, workshop with the national staff, teach some of the Permaculture Design Certificate courses and build the village. This would take four months just to get the planning and design correct and I would stay until then — the end of stage two. I was in my element.There were not the usual holds in place that stifle one’s creativity— no over-anxious client, greedy developer or blood-from-a-stone boss.There were financial and time constraints, but as long as I could think and act quickly there appeared no limitations to what I could do as long as I thought on my feet and aimed at finding creative solutions. When you are put into this kind of situation, it is possible to bring architecture back to its most basic form as shelter and to find a rare kind of beauty in buildings that without the hype are truly honest — a kind of ‘habitat for humanity’ philosophy. The beginning In the first week, we [with my translator Ganimet Latifi, architect Sami Fatir, site manager Dave Clarke and a subcommittee from the local community] had designed the site layout and a schematic of all the major building components.With a quick course in solar passive design, I left the main design elements up to our local architect. We were not dealing with cutting edge design elements, but more realistic solutions to shelter. The end products are somewhat clichéd 70’s style solar houses, but for the tiny village of Cegrane this was quite a leap. We used traditional ideas and building styles, local building knowledge and materials while incorporating permaculture methods of creating energy, collecting water and dealing with waste and the straw bale construction techniques. The Vardar Valley is stunning, both under snow and in the 40+º C days that occur in the summer.The surrounding medieval villages are picturesque with a very distinct local vernacular. Mud, straw and stone structures with timber lintels foil movement in this earthquake-prone part of the world. There are a lot of Ottoman Empire influences; mosques and minarets, while the modern buildings are very Eastern Bloc, communist-era utilitarian, using in-situ concrete and red ‘blocka’ bricks, not so helpful in an earthquake. It was quite easy to see why countries, usually developing countries, often have huge fatalities in earthquakes and natural disasters. It is difficult, with western eyes and education to let go of what you know to adapt to the local methods, to try to incorporate cultural sensitivity into your process. I was constantly aware of not wanting to come across as a western know-it-all. I wanted to use the local vernacular and knowledge. I definitely learnt more on this project than I taught.
Cegrane
Après les accords de paix des Balkans conclus en juin 1999 et le rapatriement de nombreux réfugiés au Kosovo, le Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés a entrepris la réhabilitation de tous les sites de camps de réfugiés en Macédoine. Le camp de réfugiés de Cegrane, situé près de la frontière du Kosovo, avait été le plus grand camp
trices et palettes. Le projet de réhabilitation du site avait pour but l’aménagement d’un site autosuffisant, approvisionné en eau au moyen d’un réseau de 7,2 km de puits et de bais- sières pouvant contenir jusqu’à 40 millions de litres d’eau. Nous avons réussi à stabiliser le terrain en plantant 18 000 arbres, dont 3 000 forment un verger d’arbres fruitiers
du genre depuis la Seconde Guerre mondiale.
divers, et à aménager des jardins potagers où poussent une variété de légumes. Nous avons construit un centre d’éducation, des immeubles à bureaux et des logements pour les étudiants. Le projet pré- voyait la construction, au fil du temps, d’habitations pour les gens du village, à qui serait également confiée la respon - sabilité de gérer le centre
Le petit village musulman de Cegrane s’est retrouvé avec un site de 50 hectares rempli de déchets que les réfugiés avaient laissés derrière eux : tentes faites de toile, mâts de tentes, couvertures infestées de poux, grillage à clôture, barbelés tranchants, caisses de généra-
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O n S ite review
T ransformations
I ssue 7 2002
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