In Pursuit of Civic Spaces for Dialogues and Affinities

This work situates the role of architecture in the contemporary debate on conflict, border and territory; reflecting upon the intricate relations of architectural space and social conduct through the case of last divided capital in Europe; by its documentation, encounter and interpretation by means of architectural determinism and structuralism.

The proposal envisages a post-conflict scenario in anticipation of a long expected unification; to re-inhabit this forsaken strip of terrain vague that is halted in time, and vested with possibilities for a continuous whole; and to engage a society of dual identities that is captivated in isolation. This architectural intent mediates the reconciliation of social and cultural bonds through an architecture of civic spaces for collective domain, by speculating on the spatial appropriation of social emancipation within architectural forms and construct. The project initiates with cartographic research to study the urban, socio-spatial conditions of the present realm; and to locate the area of intervention. The project area is opted for its intangible and symbolic values, its historic and strategic importance for the unification of the city; and it traces upon a palimpsest territory layered with ruins and remnants of the past. Engaging with the themes as propelling permanence, time, form and language entail the dwelling and integration of this post-war place in concern of its memory, history and continuity. Thus the intervention approach reveals a work of subtraction and addition, to sculpt the spatiotemporal rupture of the place in time and space while corresponding to its character, meaning, and new functional use. The project pursues to devise a spatial apparatus of dialogue, debate and encounter, as well as a lieu de mémoire; to augment social interactions and collective life through shared notions of culture and art, to celebrate the reunification, and to commemorate and document the historical placement of this topography of loss and hope. The new premises consist of Cultural and Learning Centre, Museum Quartier and Auditorium, Memorial for the Victims of Civil War and Museum of Diaspora, Library of National History and Documentation Centre. The proposal contemplates the recovery of this forbidden non-place of diaspora and remembrance in pursuit of civic spaces for dialogues and affinities, in which differences are nuanced with social cohesion, emancipation and participation of all.