The migrant house: the meaning of its architecture and materiality

The home and its physical structure, the dwelling, often seem inseparable. Yet for migrants, these two concepts sometimes appear as the two extreme ends of the home-migration nexus, where home stands at one end and the physical dwelling at the other. Migration scholars have often emphasised the dynamic nature of home while also being grounded, and migrants have always tried to bridge this gap, often utilising the physical structure and materialities of their homes. This chapter discusses the physical aspects of the migrant home, often constructed – sometimes at the same time - in both the host country and the home country. First, the chapter provides a critical overview of scholarship on the migrant house in the hostland, viewed from the perspectives of both the host society and the migrant dweller. Second, the chapter discusses the materiality of the migrant home (including furniture, paintings and objects) and the way it contributes to the integration and wellbeing of migrant dwellers. Third, it discusses literature on the migrant house built in the homeland, with money earned in the host country, as another form of migrant architecture, even if the migrant never dwells in it. I argue that although migrant houses have been portrayed in a negative light by host and home societies, they have been instrumental to migrants' integration and sense of belonging in their home environments.