Gert-Jan Wisse Common Ground Belfast Dreaming of a no man’s land Sara Burgerhartstraat 42-1 1055 LA Amsterdam 06-53971505 g.a.wisse@hotmail.com
Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2014-2015 Landscape Architecture
Landscape Architecture
Gert-Jan Wisse Common Ground Belfast Dreaming of a no man’s land
Belfast bears the psychological and physical scars of recent history, particularly in the industrial city. The conflict that had a hold on the city during the last three decades of the 20th century has left behind a severely divided city, with metres-high walls as a testament. Sixteen years after the Good Friday Agreement, tentative signs of rapprochement are slowly becoming visible. Based on the suggestion of the Northern Ireland government that the ‘Peace Lines’ should be gone by the year 2020, this project explores the possible meaning and value of these vacant spaces, within the context of a city that would slowly move towards an integrated society. In today’s Belfast, it’s not only the so called ‘Peace Walls’, but also the vast emptyness that dominate the area. An emptyness created largely in recent history but that, when you look deeper, tells the story of the origin of Belfast. During the start of the industrial haydays of Belfast it was the flow of a particular river that provided the waterpower for the Linnen mill industry. After the introduction of the Steam Engine, the river lost it’s industrial function and was hidden away in tunnels. The start of ‘the troubles’ meant the start of the social and spatial segregation of the city. The walls that physically divide the city where built along existing barriers in the city: the factories. Due to this chain of events, the current ‘Peace Wall’ follows the exact same trajectory as the hidden river. The story of a river that became a wall. Understanding the ‘interface zones’ as former river valleys, rather than as dividing lines, brings the possibility of an urban landscape framework. On the scale of the city, park structures and a new network of pedestrian and bicycle infrastructures make connections between existing parks and infrastructure, and links the city centre with the surrounding landscape. Additionally, the former rear side of the formerly divided neighborhoods, become new front sides in the form of an urban river park. Transforming a dividing structure of this size will take time. A three-phase strategy will enable the transformation of the heavily-charged area immediately. By removing the unused infrastructure, and defining the interface zone as a park, an intermediary zone is created. Designating this park as a water management area, decreases the risk of flooding caused by the covered river and changes the atmosphere of the area drastically. Eventually the park will act as a catalyst for urban development. And when the area has grown into a true neutral zone, cuts in the wall will allow the park to become a future meeting zone for both communities: a Common Ground.
Graduation date 16 12 2014
Commission members Berno Strootman (mentor) Lada Hršak Patrick McCabe
Additional members for the examination Bruno Doedens Roel van Gerwen
Gert-Jan Wisse
Landscape Architecture
Blitz
550
Belfast, Northern Ireland
the Troubles
Good Friday Agreement
a new power sharing executive is signed
1998
2007
1968 5 october the day the Troubles started 1972 30 january Bloody sunday - 21 july Bloody friday
31 may Titanic leaves the slipway
Belfast was granted Citystatus
1911
inhabitants x 1000
50
1888
100
1690
150
Rebellion/ Plantation of Ulster
200
12 july 1690 Battle of the Boyne
250
1641
300
Large scale city redevelopment scheme - replacement to suburbs
350
1950
400
1920 Government of Ireland act - Partition Ireland/Northern Ireland
450
1941 Belfast Blitz Bombing of Belfast by Nazi Germany during WWII
500
Suburb inhabitants City inhabitants
0
1500
1600
1700
1800
1850
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
the urban history of a conflict ; social and spatial segregation, drastic decrease of residents in the city centre, dramatic damage on buildings and herritage
occupation of Belfast based on two rivers - 1500
Watermill industry - 1800
industrialisation - 1900
Belfast Blitz - 1942
the Troubles - 1968 - 1998
2014 - ?
the story of a river that became a wall
Urban segregation ; conflict frontlines have become dividing lines
Rivers were hidden away in tunnels
1990
2000
2010
year
Gert-Jan Wisse
Intervention on the scale of the city; understanding the interface zones as forgotten river valleys creates possible meeting and developing zones
by defining the interface zone as an intermediary zone, carving breakthroughs in the wall and designating the zone as a water management park, the possibility of mutual use draws one step closer
Landscape Architecture
current condition
#1 Making space by removing unused infrastructure
defining intermediary zone, chance for cross connections
new urban river valley
#2 defining Intermediary zone change in water management
#3 developing new urban river park
Spatial interventions for transforming Interface zones: Peace Wall ; new edge ; new water course ; found objects ; peripheral conditions
Status quo transformed into new public space ; Common Ground
Periphery condition, park structure as the catalyst for urban development
Gert-Jan Wisse
void - existing situation
edge
tunnel bridge
river course
river course flood
‘Peace Wall’ - existing situation
wall walk
river quaywall
river overflow area
river overflow area flood
tunnel- existing situation
wall coupure
tunnel new public space
tunnel path
tunnel becomes overflow during flood
toolbox spatial interventions
Former river tunnels become new public spaces
New edge marking Common Ground
Amsterdam Academy of Architecture
Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals. There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation. With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof. Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline. The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design
projects form the backbone of the syllabus. On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills. The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects. The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation. During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors. Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.