Story 2: Double Belgian Coast Model
The tension between Haves and Have-nots is getting so intense that it affects both negatively. The instability scares foreign investors away from the city and prompts an exodus of established institutions; both sides suffer the consequences. The economic leaders of the Haves and the political leaders of the Have-nots hold conferences and arrive at a mutual agreement to release the pressure and stabilize the existing situation while maintaining the dynamics of this tension. This aim is achieved by a model comprising two identical buildings, similar to those unbroken rows of apartment buildings along the Belgian Coast, separated by a buffer zone. (map 1)
The walled character of the buildings keeps out undesirable intruders, reassures society and hinders any over-hasty integration or reconciliation. The buffer zone is now a free space accessible to both parties and protected against developments outside. The programmes in the buildings are mirrored across the middle line of the buffer zone, so that members can observe the rituals and practices of ‘the others’. The buildings are visual laboratories aimed at familiarizing each group with the lifestyle of ‘the other’; binoculars are provided. Volunteers to live in the buildings are welcomed, living costs are subsidized by sympathetic humanitarian organizations and special taxation rates will apply. Several gaps are carved out of the buildings linking points on both sides and making the invisible connections visible. (map 2)
The buffer zone is preserved as a reminder of the brutality of Apartheid and its walls. The free space is a space for respect, contemplation, leisure and freedom; members can come to this space to meet, to learn tolerance of the others, to tease or politely harass one other. It is a ‘conceptual dialogue’ space, devoid of architecture, but highly charged with dynamic possibilities. The colour grey symbolizes the co-existence of multiple colours. The sublime ‘wallness’ of the buildings can be fully appreciated here. (map 3)
This model is a compression of all meanings of the wall: division, isolation, but also protection, connection and facade; altogether it inverts the brutality of the wall into a calming, relieving, sympathetic and connective architecture. (detail)
The tension between Haves and Have-nots is getting so intense that it affects both negatively. The instability scares foreign investors away from the city and prompts an exodus of established institutions; both sides suffer the consequences. The economic leaders of the Haves and the political leaders of the Have-nots hold conferences and arrive at a mutual agreement to release the pressure and stabilize the existing situation while maintaining the dynamics of this tension. This aim is achieved by a model comprising two identical buildings, similar to those unbroken rows of apartment buildings along the Belgian Coast, separated by a buffer zone. (map 1)
The walled character of the buildings keeps out undesirable intruders, reassures society and hinders any over-hasty integration or reconciliation. The buffer zone is now a free space accessible to both parties and protected against developments outside. The programmes in the buildings are mirrored across the middle line of the buffer zone, so that members can observe the rituals and practices of ‘the others’. The buildings are visual laboratories aimed at familiarizing each group with the lifestyle of ‘the other’; binoculars are provided. Volunteers to live in the buildings are welcomed, living costs are subsidized by sympathetic humanitarian organizations and special taxation rates will apply. Several gaps are carved out of the buildings linking points on both sides and making the invisible connections visible. (map 2)
The buffer zone is preserved as a reminder of the brutality of Apartheid and its walls. The free space is a space for respect, contemplation, leisure and freedom; members can come to this space to meet, to learn tolerance of the others, to tease or politely harass one other. It is a ‘conceptual dialogue’ space, devoid of architecture, but highly charged with dynamic possibilities. The colour grey symbolizes the co-existence of multiple colours. The sublime ‘wallness’ of the buildings can be fully appreciated here. (map 3)
This model is a compression of all meanings of the wall: division, isolation, but also protection, connection and facade; altogether it inverts the brutality of the wall into a calming, relieving, sympathetic and connective architecture. (detail)
