Our space differs from space in general, the room, the camping tent, the commune. It is characterized and organized based on our daily movements ,habits and necessities, it bears our own stigma. Especially when it comes to a temporary hosting space during the process of a forced relocation, it must be our space in whatever period of time it works as our enclosure.
The object of the study is the recording and critisism of the three active refugee accommodation structures in Epirus, with two of them , in Katsikas and Filippiada, established with the contribution of the state and various NGOs and the complex of the former pedagogue "Agia Eleni" of Constantinos Doxiadis. Specifically, they are being investigated from the beginning of their operation in 2017 until today, in terms of housing architecture inside, the urban planning of the wider area in which they are included, as well as the fence that separates these two worlds, while exploring the interaction between them .
After an on-site survey and having knowledge of all objective data, the research is enriched with personal records of appropriation of the living space through architectural interventions, while additional information about the operating conditions and the permanence of the supposedly temporary space through participatory practices, are drawn from interviews conducted with workers of the structures.
According to the results of the research, refugee structures tend to adopt the character of a city, characterized by uniformity and adequacy of necessary infrastructure, which allows greater control during entry, stay and exit of the residents. The absence of the personal element and the non-provision of appropriate materials for the desired interventions, are characteristic features of the "new" structures of the state, which combined with the tightening of regulations inside, tend to function as imitations of small settlements, without much success. In other words, architecture imitates the official refugee policy : it is about architecture of prevention and not integration.
