Foundations of Belonging

Author

Yerim Jang, Rhode Island School of DesignFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-31-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Design (MDes) in Interior Studies / Adaptive Reuse

Department

Interior Architecture

First Advisor

Eduardo Benamor Duarte

Second Advisor

Nick Haus Heywood

Third Advisor

Teddi Jallow

Abstract

In the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands of immigrants displaced by World War II sought refuge in the United States, drawn by the promise of a new life and the hope of finding community in an unfamiliar land. To navigate the challenges of a new country, these immigrants formed ethnic social clubs that provided essential support, including housing, employment, and spaces for social connection. Over time, as later generations assimilated and established new identities, these once-thriving social hubs diminished, barely operating their original functions and transitioned into bars, event halls, or restaurants. Since the early 2000s, a new wave of refugees fleeing global conflicts has arrived in the U.S., in search of the sanctuary. Most refugee centers today focus on diverse programs, including placement, integration, and training. However, the fundamental aspect of resettlement— establishing a connection with the local community— remains absent due to issues of locational isolation, lack of shared spaces, and a lack of cultural understanding or openness within the existing community. Recognizing that both immigrants and refugees are migrants seeking sanctuary from past to present, this thesis proposes architectural additions to existing ethnic social clubs, creating social communicative spaces that bridge the gap between refugees and the surrounding neighborhood. By inserting spaces that encourage interaction between newcomers and local residents, these interventions aim to revitalize the clubs as dispersed community anchors—collectively operating as a new urban typology for social integration. The additive spaces will host a multiplicity of social integration and support programs tailored for refugees, fostering inclusive environments while simultaneously revitalizing existing ethnic social clubs for members of the existing community. Through a shared architectural language of addition, these interventions will unify fragmented identities and invite broader neighborhood participation. These programmatic additions will be applied to 12 ethnic social clubs located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, demonstrating how strategic programming and spatial interventions can establish a systematic distribution of community hubs throughout the city. This approach aims to induce human connection, generate seamless urban links, and gradually expand social bonds within the cityscape. From an architectural perspective, this thesis explores strategic approaches to creating additional community spaces that blur spatial and cultural boundaries. This is achieved through five distinct strategies for generating architectural thresholds—through, intersection, addition, flexibility, and shell—which are manifested in four types of building extensions: vertical, horizontal, storefront, and insertion. These strategies will be applied and tested on three representative sites, selected from a total of twelve ethnic social clubs, to reflect a diverse range of spatial conditions at small, medium, and large scales. By situating these interventions within the broader context of twelve ethnic social clubs serving as host buildings, the thesis proposes a scalable framework for spatial integration. This approach offers a prototype for expanding architectural engagement with cultural remnants across the United States, fostering a more inclusive and interconnected urban fabric.

Recommended Citation

Jang, Yerim, "Foundations of Belonging" (2025). Masters Theses. 1426.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1426

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.