The competition, hosted by DOCEXDOCE, asked the participants to ponder the question; “Can architecture play a role in the reduction of violence, fear, anxiety, and destruction in Belfast?”. In doing so, propose an architectural project that could further the dialogue between the two conflicting communities.
Along with my co-designer, Anna Dmytriyeva, we proposed a project consisting of a shared outdoor community garden and an indoor winter garden that act as interfaces between the two communities at Thistle Court. The scheme is aimed at the younger population with the hope that their presence and interaction will spark conversation among themselves and their parents and other members of the older population.
The fruits of the farm will further disseminate the positive benefits of the scheme. Though working together in a natural environment, the younger population would create stronger bonds that will carry through into their future lives eventually dissolving the divide between the communities.
Elements such as a tensile cord fence one on each side of the communal garden allow the children amusing access to the gardens, bypassing the winter-garden main structure. The boundary wall surrounding the community gardens continuously allows for visual permeability using a standardized height.
All adults will be able to watch over the younger children without having to physically be inside the garden.
