Contested Space

This is an ongoing blog that aims to prompt as well as capture discussion around 'Contested Space' across three cities: Belfast, Northern Ireland; Chicago, US and Pretoria, South Africa.

[contestedspace-blog]

Street Society is an opportunity for first and fifth year students of architecture at the School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering (SPACE), Queen’s University Belfast, to work together on a real project for a real client in real time.

RURAL Operations [Op.s] are a series of design offices this year spread across the countryside of Northern Ireland working with a range of clients; addressing many aspects and issues that arise out of the rural condition.

The rural condition in Northern Ireland, some may say, is equally if not more contested than its better known urban counterpart. However the signs tend to be much more subtle than physical divisions and visual markings we see in urban centres like Belfast and Derry/Londonderry.

[contestedspace-blog]

[contestedspace-blog]

Tweets from the former Maze prison, Northern Ireland (27/02/12)

Things I learnt today: the Maze was Northern Ireland's largest electricity consumer by some way - mostly on turning night off by flood light

The Maze's operational 'brain' - the emergency control room is now occupied by a family of swallows and a kaleidoscope of butterflies

1st internal rectangular space you enter in a 'H' block prison is known as the circle. Is this how Northern Ireland used to square a circle?

Washing machines at the Maze would regularly break down, not due to dirty protest but for circulating air for tunnelling escapists to breathe

At the Maze, everything had duel names depending on whether you were from 'the north of Ireland' or from 'Northern Ireland'- Bilingual Arch.

@gemma_thorpe that was particularly interesting, there was a VERY strict no photo rule - which made me more observant & absorbent to detail

@ciaraleeming @gemma_thorpe mostly, except for H block 6, chapel, hospital & emergency control room. Wylie's photos document this & cleared

@ciaraleeming @gemma_thorpe I think so, powerful place. Together with the annual Royal Agricultural Society fair relocating to the site.

The first man to escape from the Maze was dressed as a priest, the last as a woman

At Maze's chapel inmates could get married to their partners. A side room was given to consummate the marriage under lock & key#altwedding

Do you think I can get away with suggesting reading tweets for next months contested space reading group? #worthatry

27 Feb 2012 via @paul_bower

The views contained here are my own and are not connected to Queen's University Belfast

[contestedspace-blog]

"Despite past history and present economic precariousness, Northern Ireland has emerged as UK's happiest corner

Glasgow kisses and Chelsea grins aren't nice things, and not long ago you'd have assumed the Belfast smile was nastier. But last week the government released the results of 80,000 interviews designed to supplement measures of wealth with measures of wellbeing, and Northern Ireland emerged as the UK's happiest corner. The regional differences weren't vast – sunnily disposed subjects were everywhere the norm – but the passing of the Troubles may have encouraged Ulster to count its blessings. It's not just past history but present economic precariousness which makes the result impressive. The six counties are mightily dependent on a public sector which faces cuts, and yet their average citizen reports satisfaction of 7.6, when ranking their life on a one to 10 scale. The tight communities that once made conflict so intractable now yield broader beams. That proves there's more to life than money – which should put a smile on everyone's face."

The Guardian, 'Comment is free...' Editorial (05/03/12)

[contestedspace-blog]

'A Brief History of Violence'  by Stephen Pinker at TED 

Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence. (2007)

[contestedspace-blog]

Introduction to Spatial Justice (1/4)

Doreen Massey, Chantal Mouffe and David Harvey in dialogue about the relationship between space and politics. This first video focuses on what Doreen Massey has to say on this relationship, however I would recommend watching all four videos that captures the full content of the symposium.

'The Centre for the Study of Democracy', University of Westminster in collaboration with the 'Westminster International Law & Theory Center' and the Spaces of Democracy/Democracy of Space Network' held a one-day workshop on Spatial Justice: Radical Spacial Foundations. (2011)

[contestedspace-blog]

Zygmunt Bauman on the norm of stressful cities

A recent talk at the school of architecture in Sheffield (UK), was given by the highly regarded sociologist Zygmunt Bauman speaking about the norm of stressful cities, as part of a wider series of talks on the social production of architecture.

A brief article on the lecture from the Architects Journal - please click here to see article - provides a useful overview of what he had to say as well as the joys of unforeseeable events - such as fire alarms!

The relevance for our discussions on contested space is in how he acknowledges the inherent ungovernable nature of space and by inference the unpredictable and uncontrollable aspects of sharing space in cities with strangers - in other words: living with others. The rise of the gated community, Bauman believes, is devaluing our social faculties and in doing so losing valuable skills of dialogue necessary to communicate and negotiate through inevitable times of conflict with others.

As we proceed with these Global Classroom discussions we may also want to think about tactics and strategies that start to approach the physical and metaphysical barriers that exist in all three locations of Belfast, Chicago and Tshwane, Pretoria, albeit in differing ways. And perhaps also start to reconsider contested space as a condition to work with, rather than a problem to be always removed or solved.

PB

[contestedspace-blog]

Week 3: The third Contested Space: Global Classroom (CSGC) video link up was this time hosted by Pretoria and was led by a presentations about Pretoria and the city of Tshwane.

Please click here to see the presentation produced by the Pretoria participants

Please add your comments and notes from the third discussion by clicking on date below or the purple 'Comments' title at the bottom left hand side of this post.

[contestedspace-blog]

Week 2: The second Contested Space: Global Classroom (CSGC) video link up was this time hosted by Queen's University Belfast (QUB) and was led by a series of presentations about Belfast from different perspectives.

Please click here to see the presentation produced by the QUB participants

Please add your comments and notes from the second discussion by clicking on date below or the purple 'Comments' title at the bottom left hand side of this post.

[contestedspace-blog]

'Reprogramming the Wall' was a 5th year student project Paul Bower began at Sheffield School of Architecture in 2006, as part of 'Studio 2: Strategies of Transition'. Set in Belfast, the project took its main site as a peace line that predominantly runs along Cupar Way; the unofficial interface between the Catholic/republican communities of the Falls Road and the Protestant/loyalist communities around the Shankill Road.

Presented here is a video of a cycle ride Paul took along part of the perimeter of the Cupar Way wall which reveals in real time how the "interruption in relationships" had manifested itself, showing the scale of the security barrier and the various control gates, openings, spaces that exist to maintain 'peace' in this area of West Belfast. Overlaid to this film is a mixture of conversations with various agents working at the time in Belfast, dealing with contested space and its relationship with the built environment.

As part of Paul's PhD at Queen's University Belfast (QUB), he is critically revisiting and reflecting on this project to identify aspects and approaches, he and others took, that may help to begin a much needed rethink of architectural practice through contested and critical contexts.

[contestedspace-blog]

At a seminar hosted by the Institute for Research in Social Sciences and the Inter-Institute Peace and Conflict Cluster, Dr Jonny Byrne of the University of Ulster presented his findings of three years of research in regards to public policy on peace walls (interface barriers) in Belfast. His presentation drew upon his PhD thesis and 40 interviews. (text by Mr Ulster, from www.sluggerotoole.com) 

[contestedspace-blog]

Week 1: The inaugural Contested Space: Global Classroom (CSGC) video link up across Belfast, Chicago and Pretoria. The first session began by brief introductions from all participants, followed by a presentation from Chicago focused on their city and the notion of contested space, which culminated in a discussion across the three cities. (Photo from Queen's University Belfast)

Please click here to see the presentation produced by the Chicago participants

Please add your comments and notes from the first discussion by clicking on date below or the purple 'Comments' title at the bottom left hand side of this post.

[contestedspace-blog]

“Interface - the conjunction or intersection of two or more territories or social spaces, which are dominated, contested or claimed by some or all members of the differing ethno-national groups”

Jarman, N. ‘Shared Space’ (2008)

(http://www.community-relations.org.uk/fs/doc/shared-space-neil-jarmon.pdf)