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Urban Collision - Design Opportunities in Tensions and Fragments

deFilippis, Audrey

Abstract Details

2010, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning : Architecture (Master of).

This thesis is about left over spaces within the contemporary urban context of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It examines the design potential of the spaces, which resulted not out of design or formal intention of the planners, but out of oversight and urban crisis as a result of the civil war, which left many urban scars in Belfast. What makes these spaces special and worthy of exploration in a master's thesis research is, that they are not occupied by buildings that are relevant to the community, parks, or roads as one would have in any urban fabric, and they do not serve any function except to be what they are: voids.

I call these urban voids 'fragments'. In this context, the term 'fragment' is defined in formal terms in accordance with the Oxford English Dictionary usage as, "a part broken off or otherwise detached from a whole; a broken piece; a detached, isolated or incomplete part; a part remaining or still preserved when the whole is lost or destroyed." What lends these urban spaces to design is that the specific characteristics of the voids, identified in the Oxford English Dictionary definition, are caused by human activities, disasters and conflicts leading to urban division and fragmentation. Within an urban setting such as Belfast, fragmented urban voids have heightened tensions between dynamically conflicted social groups such as the Catholics and the Protestants, for that reason they provide design opportunities in tensions and fragments that can help the community to heal through the shared usage of multi-use public spaces.

The 30 years of violent conflict have left the city of Belfast fragmented, filled with voided spaces and painful memories, leading to the creation of numerous conflicted sites throughout the urban fabric. One of the most highly contested sites is the decommissioned Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Barracks in Andersonstown, located in West Belfast. Today the barracks have been demolished, but the void left remains a scar on the city, due to the difficult relationships that existed between the RUC and the members of the community. The ideas and suggestions that have been presented for the possible redevelopment of this site have caused reoccurring politically and ethnically charged debate over the past few years.

As an urban void, the site tends to call for a program that is sensitive to the memories of the members of the community while at the same time ameliorating the fears and mistrusts harbored by each side. It is hoped that through a design thesis exploration, the urban void left by the RUC in Andersonstown, a site that was plagued by violent tensions and fragments, can become a space education, meditation, reflection, relaxation, recreation, reconciliation and gathering of people who would normally not be able to come into contact with one another.

Nnamdi Elleh, PhD (Committee Chair)
Rebecca Williamson, PhD (Committee Chair)
123 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • deFilippis, A. (2010). Urban Collision - Design Opportunities in Tensions and Fragments [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277144387

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • deFilippis, Audrey. Urban Collision - Design Opportunities in Tensions and Fragments. 2010. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277144387.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • deFilippis, Audrey. "Urban Collision - Design Opportunities in Tensions and Fragments." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1277144387

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)