Reading and reacting: from the research of border conditions to experimental methods in architectural and urban design

Abstract

Spatial analysis and architectural design in border conditionsIt is in marginal urban areas, borders of states, territories and cities that limits of normal behaviour are transgressed and social and political differences become apparent. Such sites, where other spatial conditions have emerged, and that are "teeming with suggestive meanings and unexpected potential", have hardly been analyzed and discussed within the contemporary architectural discourse (Schoonderbeek, 2009, 30). Even though the spatial analysis of the city and the territory are seemingly well established practices in architectural discourse, the incorporation of characteristics of border conditions via these analyses have also hardly been discussed. The "operationalization of the contextual" within architectural design strategies remains conspicuously absent in reflections on architectural design procedures. Our paper addresses the speculative nature of the relationship between the spatial analysis of border conditions and architectural design by emphasizing and clarifying the "modus operandi" of an architectural project.By taking an experimental approach to spatial analysis and architectural design, we intend to challenge disciplinary borders. If borders are seen as the marginal urban regions where the "other" resides, it becomes important to provide alternative models to read the spatial, social and temporal conditions at hand. Therefore, we suggest bringing into play methods of spatial analysis such as mapping or literary techniques in the investigation of urban fringes, and in the speculative design of alternative urban realities. With this paper, we argue that an intrinsic relationship might exist between methods of spatial analysis and methods of architectural design. This text tries to clarify the underlying theoretical considerations of these architectural investigations and design projects. In order to achieve this, the article will first present four specific understandings of the border, namely as space of differentiation, as zone of performance, as space of encounter and as space of simultaneity. This part speculates on how this border space as a space of simultaneity should be explored. Second, the article brings to the fore how the border between architecture and literature can be employed for the reading of exactly such border spaces, and by extension, how to use methods deriving from the meeting of these disciplines in reacting upon border spaces through design interventions.

Interfaces/intersections in architecture and urbanism

“…Papers in this issue address "Interfaces/intersections in architecture and urbanism" with the aim of discussing borders, interfaces and intersections that are revealed in tangible and intangible forms. According to Schoonderbeek and Havik (2014) borders in spatial disciplines emphasize two distinct features in the twenty-first century as segregation of political, ethnic and religious contexts and as performative zones where borders influence their hinterland. Borders, interfaces and intersections can be attributed to deeper meanings and emphasis.…”

“…Architects border interior space from the natural environment, attributing meaning to the bordering element as an interface or an intersection. They speculate on the dialectics of interior or exterior space: "in and out," "in-between," "overlapping" space or as spaces of encounter, threshold space or as presented by Schoonderbeek and Havik (2014) "a place of origination, space of differentiation, zone of performance and space of simultaneity", with each being indicative of some meaning. With globalization and digital networks, meanings of borders require continuous interrogation and redefinition.…”

Study trip as means of expanded learning

“…The project aimed to discover and represent elements of the public space that are hidden to the naked eye or in the basic maps (e.g., in tourist maps). Mapping was chosen as the main on-site and off-site technique to gather observational data and to provide a consistent informational device (Schoonderbeek, 2015;Schoonderbeek & Havik, 2014) to the three cohorts of students. The substantial importance of physical mapping (in other disciplines called fieldwork) is illustrated by many scholars, predominantly within the realm of geography (e.g., Fuller, Rawlinson, & Bevan, 2000, Kent, Gilbertson, & Hunt, 1997.…”