Where the Divided Meet

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In Folder: 2018 Theses

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Where the Divided Meet

Submitted to in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, April 2018

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title: Where the Divided Meet

creator: Merna Haddad

subject: Borderlands, Designs and plans; Boundaries, Social aspects; Walls; President's Award (2018);

description: Governments around the world have resorted to border-walls for centuries; for security and control. They come with a set of detrimental consequences, yet we still look to them for protection when they hardly even offer us that. I fear that the design of division between two opposing entities at this scale is in the wrong hands; I would like to challenge the notion that national-scale elements do not need the involvement of designers. Borders direct circulation, they define culture, they are spatial, three-dimensional, and above all, they are underdeveloped concepts limited in form and function. After examining edge conditions around the world, this thesis offers different strategies to sensibly bring together differing societies. These tactics are inspired by existing architectural thresholds that are deemed successful in blurring the difference between “here” and “there.” In these transition zones, opportunities to converse with conflicting mindsets can be created and in-turn there is an opportunity for understanding. Our world is increasingly divided through aggressive means, diminishing the potential of tolerating, let alone, empathizing with our neighbors. Keeping in mind the longevity of the walls we’re erecting, their effects need to be seriously considered through multiple lenses and scenarios. An architecture to divide with no vision for future resolution, is a missed opportunity.

publisher: The Douglas D. Schumann Library and Learning Commons, Wentworth Institute of Technology

date: 2018

type: Thesis

format: .pdf

language: eng

rights: https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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