(Un)Common Ground

The thesis aims to interrogate UNESCO’s criteria and value of cultural heritage within post conflict cities. It builds on critical perspectives taken by scholars such as Lynn Meskell (A Future in Ruins, 2018) and more recently, Sofia Labadi (Rethinking Heritage for Sustainable Development, 2022), which question the role of ‘heritage preservation’ as it stands within the current UNESCO framework. The thesis questions the rigidity of tangible heritage and proposes an imaginative approach towards relinquishing the traditional distinction from the intangible.

Using Mostar as a case study, the thesis proposes the considered categorisation of ruined fragments, for careful alteration, deconstruction and movement, to reinstate a cultural centre within the heart of city; rather than the traditional reconstruction of built heritage. As Anna Marik states within ‘Mortal Cities and Forgotten Monuments’ (2016), originally these ruins made up infrastructure that acted as a frame for daily life, shaping and accommodating new urban and inclusive activities throughout the city. The research proposes to reassess the ruined structures within the city, highlighting the need to embrace these structures as an “infrastructural tool”. It also attempts to form a new set of design objectives and operations to serve as a model to follow and create a counterpoint to UNESCO’s criteria, objectives and value. In doing so, the project aims to heighten the value of built heritage and also restore the intangible heritage and everyday rituals that the city had been known for and once thrived on. Through this, the thesis develops a useful infrastructural and planning tool for the reconstruction of post-conflict urban spaces by breaking this distinction and making the tangible heritage fluid and mobile. The thesis argues that such an approach is necessary for the rebuilding of urban battlefields, which are often characterised by difficult and contested heritage. In making tangible heritage ‘mobile’ it allows for an agile, energised and dialogical urban infrastructure fit for meaningful reconstruction. The resultant project combines new civic infrastructure promoting the preservation of both intangible & tangible heritage, urban space and parklands built via sustainable ‘urban mining’ that utilises the ruins and debris to the fullest.