Description

Thesis Academy of Architecture. Project consisted of design interventions, facilitating
cultural exchange on both sides of the so called Green line.
Nicosia is the only capital city in the world which is still divided, and is the backdrop to the stark contrast between the Turkish world of Islam and the Western world of the Greeks. Since 1974 a demilitarized buffer zone, the Green Line, has physically divided the city and the entire island. Nicosia’s Roman origin means that it is a historical treasure, but the Green Line has split the very heart of the old town in two. As a result, I sought a spatial and architectural means of reuniting the two cultures as this unique situation required an unconventional approach. My task was to develop a strategy to stimulate the process of cultural change and regeneration in the heart of the old town. My project consisted of three anchors acting as hubs of urban activity, in combination with a spatial framework at the exact place of today’s demilitarized zone. Above all, pressure had to be increased on the edges of the buffer zone and the UN-controlled link between the two halves of Nicosia. Subsequently, anchors could be created as a condition of regeneration and cultural exchange between the two parts of the old town.

Theses Academy of Architecture – Type of plan: Development strategy – Location: Nicosia, Cyprus, Status: thesis
Position: student Urbanism/ Academy of Architecture Amsterdam – December 2006
Nominated/winner Archiprix 2007, Archiprix International 2008