Training Centre for Young Adults Exiting the Child Protection System

Authors’ Comment

This thesis project addresses a social issue encountered both nationally and internationally: the situation of young people who leave the child welfare system upon turning 18. After researching and analyzing this situation, I observed that the transition to independent living is difficult, particularly due to a lack of housing, employment, and, in many cases, vocational training or higher education. Thus, the project proposes integrating these three needs—housing, education, and professional integration—into a single center to support young people on their path to autonomy.
The center is located in the Malmaison building, a former military barracks and later a military prison—a place with a strong historical identity and the image of a closed-off, cold enclave. Through the proposed intervention, I hope to transform this perception and turn the place into one where people want to come, learn, work, and meet.
The functions are distributed throughout the complex to correspond to the stages of this transformation process. One wing of the building is designated for housing, providing young people with a place to live during their transition to independence. Another wing houses a mini-dual-track school, consisting of classrooms and specialized workshops, with each class focused on a specific practical activity. Through collaboration with companies and industry specialists, the young people can learn a trade and gain the experience necessary to secure future employment, either within the center or at partner companies. The other buildings are dedicated to public services and workspaces, which not only create jobs for the beneficiaries but also establish a direct link between the center and the city.
A historical analysis of the building revealed the enclosed nature of the complex, whose original form was altered after the 1977 earthquake, when one of the wings was demolished due to structural deterioration. Based on this, we concluded that the history of the site calls for a restoration of the concept of an enclosed complex, not through a mimetic reconstruction, but by adding a new, distinctly contemporary layer.
The project’s concept thus stems from the idea of layers. I wish to preserve and reveal the building’s historical layers while adding a new layer that can be recognized as a contemporary intervention. Copper becomes the primary material for this layer, thanks to its ability to age gracefully and change its appearance over time. Thus, what is new today will, over the years, become a new layer in the building’s history. The contemporary extensions and interventions do not seek to imitate what already exists, but rather to create a controlled contrast that highlights the old architecture without overshadowing it.
This concept of layers extends beyond the building itself and becomes a metaphor for the beneficiaries’ journey. Just as the complex has been transformed over time through additions, alterations, and losses, the young people who come here also undergo their own process of transformation: from children or adolescents to independent adults. The center thus becomes a space for this transformation.
The young person is provided with housing and, as he or she finds a job and becomes financially independent, contributes toward the rent. For those who do not yet have the necessary training, the dual education program offers the opportunity to learn a trade and gain practical experience. The ultimate goal is not dependence on the center, but rather independence from it: when the young person is ready to continue on their own, they free up the housing for someone else who is just starting out on the same path.
The project thus becomes more than just a renovation of a historic building: it is a space that preserves the layers of the past while, at the same time, creating the conditions for new stories and new beginnings to emerge.