the idea of the “border” is inextricably linked to the contradictory ideas of belonging and exclusion, of freedom and restriction, and of security and uncertainty. the “border” is the concept of a line drawn on a piece of paper, but it is manifested through specific infrastructures and architectures that violently separate two spaces—creating a reactionary “here” and “there.” while separating these two spaces, this thesis aspires to make the border a third, in-between space; a zone that is neither “here” nor “there”—but rather, a shared, public space.
urban border
while nicosia is a divided city now, this thesis starts with the anticipation that it will not always remain this way. in the designs, buildings in and around the zone are in ruins, and off of them hang platforms and nets that facilitate a network of plant-life that, as time passes, will stitch the two sides of the city back together, creating a literal green zone—the city’s lung. while most platforms are for non-human species, some have a couple steps leading up to them, and are accessible to humans. the seeds of future growth are planted so that three streets that had existed before the conflict are re-formed—preparing the city for a unified future.
maritime border
buoys are placed along the border as a symbolic, one-time event. they are tied to the seafloor with rope just longer than the distance to sea-level, which allows the buoys to move within a certain diameter, depending on the shifting currents and winds. the ropes are made of cotton, which facilitates their own decomposition—leading to the disappearance of the border within 12 months. two docks on each island are the only way to view the buoys without being on a boat. however, the only way to get to them is by travelling there by boat. this performative act references the literal “shipping” of peoples in 1923, and comments on the precarious nature of maritime borders. views outward from the docks remind the visitor that while separated by water, the two lands on either side consist of the same geographies, geologies, and ecologies.
suburban/rural border
the line of the border is sheared, extended, and curved to form a space—an international border zone flanked by the mirrored infrastructures of separation. yet there is a cunning gesture so that all barriers are made penetrable, and this is emphasized here by making the curved walls into arcades of gradient porosities.
this thesis attempts to reconcile the violent histories between greece and turkey by investigating the moments the two nations meet—by taking the borderscapes of separation as critical sites of reparation.