Conflict, when dislodged from its conventional understanding as a process and system of war and destruction exclusively, may be apprehended as an experimental method for analysis and synthesis, as a potent resource for pedagogy, for disruptive design and for the production of theory. In this sense, conflict produces more than the eradication of (the possibility of) life and its supporting structures: conflict produces transitional spaces at different scales, of differentiated material ecologies and site-specific meanings in relation to their global position. Conflicts are both locations and explanations of often ‘seductive’ images of destruction offered by popular (and other) media: ruined architectures, dead (or barely alive) bodies, forced migratory movements, impermanent infrastructures and settlements, as well as the tracing and construction of borders, real-estate driven post-war reconstruction processes, etc. The emphasis on the mediatic aspect in the concept of conflict, may be seen as a way of triggering trans- and interdisciplinary discussions, conversations and encounters that serve as a negotiation between conditions of violence and new — or alternative — possibilities for everyday life. Artistic mediations could be as effective as violence in resolving conflicts, but operate through other means and through other channels, thus truly producing new power relations and alternative ways of political struggle. This exposing of conflict and violence through the artistic work is an activist act, but more importantly an artistic and technological mediation. The agency of the artistic work in terms of conflict, then, is situated in the capacity of visualising the conflict, creating awareness of its consequences, its side-effects, its collateral damage. And the creating of awareness and the becoming of fertile ground for protest and the creation of alternative realities. At a three-day conference held at the TU Delft on November 6-8, 2019 researchers, scholars, activists, practitioners and artists presented individual papers that addressed the relationships between spatiality, mediation and conflict from a variety of perspectives. In addition to academic paper contributions, the conference welcomed other proposals in different formats and media: audio-visual material (film, video, photography), digital or physical archives, experimental design proposals, installations, performances, etc. The thematic core of the conference explored new — or innovative — theoretical and methodological approaches and insights on: (1) Spaces of conflict as transitional spaces of material interactions between violence and everyday life; and (2) Spaces of memory as transformative space of violence).@en

Various forms of violence and conflict continue to shape our habitats. What historically has been straightforward and even obvious two-way dependency, in recent years took more subtle and covert form due to sophisticated technological advancements in the fields of media, surveillance and armament. Recognising the detrimental effects of these new developments on the way we experience, conceptualise and build our environments, Footprint #27 proposes artistic reflections, cross-media inquiry and counter-tactics as new powerful tools to rethink the complex relationship between conflict, space and mediation. On one hand, the aim of this issue is to deepen and expand theoretical considerations that substantiate investigations of spatial conflicts by making them truly interdisciplinary. On the other, it seeks to empower architects and artists in their pursuit of exposing, critiquing and fighting spatial violence by reclaiming/unlocking the enormous potential of media tools.@en

My graduation project [Untitled] re-establishing urban dialogues in complex cityscapes, investigates the impact of qualitative public spaces in disorienting urban contexts. Taking as a case study Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, the research understands the noise that characterises fragmented cities not strictly in terms of acoustic discord but also in terms of aesthetics of the surrounding architectures. The intent of the design is to reactivate some of these noisy and forgotten locations, by silencing the context around them and at the same time allowing for new dialogue to take place.

Cities can be investigated as machines of optimal form, function and production. With this kind of abstraction the architect can forget the social content of the city. Skopje, the capital city of North-Macedonia, has both busy social spaces as empty areas. This project is a proposal to reintegrate the social component into a complex and formal part of the city by using the field conditions theory of Stan Allen and the case study of the local Ottoman bazaar. The project transforms the current public space into a social productive space, which allows the residents to rearrange their streets by using lightweight and easy to assemble components.

Public spaces are the places where people come together in the physical environment. They are precious as they have in them the possibility of bringing together people with different cultures and backgrounds. In some cases, however these important spots within our cities are not designed to maximize their capacity for human exploration. As seen in the city of Skopje (North Macedonia) large public spaces fail to attract users as they do not offer enough furnishing or objects of exploration. Design through Affordance can provide many of these underused spaces with additional layer of furnishing that aims to trigger the explorative nature within human beings. The concept appeals to the creation of spaces that are not defined in terms of functions, but rather in terms of possibilities for use. This enables public spaces to go beyond the concepts of aesthetics, style or identity and relate directly to human nature and the direct interaction between us and our physical environment.

In Skopje the pedestrian has been unwillingly victimized by the seeminly unavoidable invasion of the vehicular traffic, fed by first of all, the rapid expansion of the city over the last decades, that has led to more private cars. This has resulted in losing valuable public greenery in the shape of tree-lines alongside the roads
being removed for road expansion, and the encroaching of public space by unused,
parked cars. These stationairy cars filled up sidewalks and courtyards almost
permanently that led to adaptation of the pedestrian.

The recent Colombian Peace Agreement between the government of Juan Manuel
Santos and FARC-EP offers the opportunity to analyze the transitional justice
model, that aims to address the past violent events and the future of the victims.
The lack of involvement of architecture in the post-conflict dialogue on transitional justice, however, reveals the non-existent relationship and coordination between the agencies of architecture and realpolitik. To fill the gap, my research and project address the role of the agency of architecture in the Colombian post-conflict environment. It studies the development of transitional justice through its spatial manifestation, whose goal is to achieve peaceful coexistence between people and reconciliation with the violent past. The project focuses on Granada as a case study and the involvement of agrarian practices to confront the critical economic condition after the conflict, offering a range of symbolic and pragmatic architectural interventions in a Cooperative and Coffee Processing Plant.

In the wake of 2020, 10 years after the last civil war, Côte d’Ivoire is still recovering from years of conflict and healing from societal wounds which sometimes still feel very fresh. Conventional sectors of activities are developing fast, but the national government is still struggling to involve young actor, who feel misunderstood remain marginalized. The youth finds an outlet of expression in coupé décalé, a musical genre which was invented in 2001 during the first civil war. Through this movement, the youth expresses social tolerance and cohesion amongst one another but still struggles to efficiently contribute to the rest of society. Today, local authorities recognize the importance of this musical movement which contributes to the strengthening of the cultural identity and enforcement of social cohesion, yet they fail to use it as an asset to motivate the youth due to its bad reputation.
How can we translate the principles of social cohesion observed in coupé décalé into a space aiming to motivate the youth of a popular neighborhood and help them contribute to the civic society?
The project consists of a community center for the youth of Yopougon which is the most populated commune of Abidjan and which is known for its significant coupé décalé scene. There, young people will have the opportunity to practice different activities revolving around the principles of coupé décalé and to perform on stage. The Yopougon Youth Cultural Center will be ran and upkept by young people from the neighborhood (number of them are ex-fighters and militias from the conflict), providing a model of social cohesion applied to an economic and cultural activity. The building will house a restaurant similar to the hundreds which can be found in Yopougon and which are the theater for coupé décalé related events. There will also be performance stage, dance studios, a recording studio, a fashion studio, and possibly a co-working space and a library.

Skopje, in the last decades, underwent a dramatic spatial shift, due to transformation (traditional to modern), natural disasters (seismic destruction), and resurgence (re-plan and reconstruction). These changes have created a complex city, which over time became even more diverse through the creation of various cityscapes by both residents and architects. On the level of the building blocks we
can see some of the changes that have been made by residents in the form of building extensions. These adjustments reveal that a pure architect-driven project is incapable of reflecting the diversity of society.

The post-disaster redevelopment of a city is a complex process that requires perspectives from urban, social, economic and even ecological sciences. Resilience defines as the ability to bounce back, but the everchanging complexity of a city requires more than a simple rebuilding to pre-disaster conditions. My research identifies different notions on urban resilience but adopts the principle of “bouncing-forward”, where redevelopment aims far beyond the mere physical recovery and restoration. The “bouncing forward” notion implies the system’s ability to apply a transformative, “learning-curve” attitude for long-term development. By analyzing the historical moments of destruction and reconstruction of Enschede, I define a “learning curve” that teaches us that each redevelopment offers an opportunity for a paradigm shift based on the societal requirements of time. Also, historically, each reconstruction used the specificity of place to determine the direction for urban redefinition. I use these perspectives and lessons on urban resilience to re-evaluate the Roombeek redevelopment. After the fireworks-factory disaster, a participatory mode of governance – based on consensus decision-making – was applied to restore the disrupted relationship between the public and the local government. By putting architects into a power vacuum, the Roombeek redevelopment displayed pragmatism over a “transformative” vision for urban redefinition. A 200-car parking-facility close to the disaster-site indicates favoring the wishes of a small collective over the requirements of the city. By extrapolating from the learning curve, I formulated a future urban redefinition. I argue that the city should try to establish symbiosis between the inner-city creative forces and the edge-city’s innovative forces to establish itself as the cultural-technological city. By building a “sustainable, cultural breeding ground” on the location as mentioned earlier, the city could take the first step in shifting towards urban redefinition.