De Wachtkamer

About The Waiting Room

In the Netherlands, over 30.000 people live in temporary shelters like vacant offices, military facilities and tents. The team behind The Waiting Room is committed to showing where the Dutch asylum system falls short and to demonstrate that you can take very concrete steps together with the residents of asylum shelters to improve their living conditions. De Wachtkamer serves as an example of intensive co-creative design with vulnerable and unheard groups, and shows how a design community can design with care and knowledge in collaboration with end users.

De Wachtkamer developed a modular shell around the standard bunk beds which are found in almost all shelters. The design provides storage space for personal belongings, improves acoustics and creates privacy on multiple levels. The design is currently being tested by 60 residents of an emergency near Rotterdam.

Explore the value of humane shelters

At Ketelhuisplein, you can explore the Waiting Room pavilion to get a sense of the living conditions of shelters in the Netherlands. The pavilion that takes the archetypal form of a temporary emergency tent opens up discussion about the importance of dignified reception in the Netherlands — especially in a time of political headwinds. We showcase concrete solutions developed and tested within the Waiting Room project, which contribute to a more realistic and humane image of Dutch reception.