My spatial proposition prioritizes the human experience and the shaping of buildings into stories with emphasis on meaning rather than function. It engages the human body and mind in order to create a unique phenomenological experience. It provides an introspective exploration of people’s stories through the building’s program, the site’s context and historical connotations. The elements of the fabric of the building evoke feelings, provoke hidden memories and stimulate distinctive and individual reflections. Furthermore, complex historical implications and deliberate messages will be communicated. The portrayal of the narratives also allows interactions between the object and the user through the quality of space; scale, material, light and sound.
The architectural response will offer a series of spaces located in the buffer zone in Cyprus.
Although the possibility for a solution to Cyprus’ division in the near future seems unlikely, both sides are hoping for a better tomorrow. My project takes advantage of the need for more crossings to provide an alternative approach that potentially could provide the stepping stones in meeting this sentiment.
By reinterpreting the function of a crossing into a journey, light is shed on peoples’ perhaps forgotten narratives & stories. This creates a point of relation and increases the understanding of the people on each sides’ experiences and considerations.
Further to this, placing my project within the buffer zone, reintroduces life into the abandoned and “forgotten” land that stands as a stark reminder of the division itself. In defiance, it creates a space that break downs barriers and rekindles friendships through the use of narrative architecture to illustrate identity, culture and history.
