INTERFACE FOR PEACE IN CYPRUS

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267839

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

INTERFACE FOR PEACE IN CYPRUS

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Description

In 1974, a war has irrevocably separated Greeks & Turks in Cyprus. From then, the two communities have lived back to back, separated by an an impassable border. Omitting their shared history and roots, both communities developed on each side an irreconcilable antagonism ingrained for generations. Since 2006, a dialogue has been restored and more Cypriots are dreaming of a united island despite the Historical mutual distrust.    

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

01. Cyprus : A divided island Greeks & Turks Cypriots remain separated by a border since 1974. Peace talks since then have failed. This intractable conflict is known as the "Cypriot Conflict". Hope remains, but so does resentment and loss. 02. Famagusta :neutral interface ,first step for Peace in Cyprus                                       While the control of land has always been conflicting, the sea is considered as a public good. It is the last neutral refuge for both communities; the only place where peace-building can take shape in mutual trust.  The project is based on a timeless approach of common elements that unite Cypriots beyond their respective communities. The common elements are decayed in common Ruins, common Grounds & common Future. Common Ruins : The abandoned suburb of Famagusta is a "no man's land" since 1974. These ruins are the outcome of a tragic common past, the demonstration of the peace talks failures. Ruins are turned into a costless resource to rebuild the coastline common facilities. Common Grounds :  A symbolic continuous infrastructure encloses common grounds to Turks and Greeks within a radical form capable to contain the chaos of the five passed decades and to hold out the five centuries to come. Architecture is meant to remain in a state of equilibrium despite the political, climatic & religious rifts. Common Future : Above the sea, a continuous esplanade leads to a sanctuary of common knowledge. Emerging from the horizon, a community center, basis of a shared future, is the guarantor of an effective peace in Cyprus . 03. Learning from peace-building process Divided by religious or ethnic patterns, countries all over the world face the same issues. Learning from the case study of Cyprus, the resolution of  communautary disputes is deeply a matter of shared public interfaces.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

01. A societal rebirth Sustainability embodies different meanings in this project. Common culture is what makes one single society. The project recalls through a summarized historic vocabulary, all cultural heritages claimed by Cypriots as their common roots. A memorial and a community center highlight the fraternal links that unite Greeks and Turks. Cypriots finally can build their upcoming History in a shared place. They build together layer after layer the on-site concrete pillars of the community center that will shelter the first shared house for a common future. 02. Recycle + Reuse concrete waste The projected shared interface, is built from recycled concrete waste. The buildings exposed to climate hazards are a danger for local population. What can not be repaired is crushed and reused to rebuild new infrastructures. The new matter carries people’s remembrances of a sentimental common past. 03. Building on site with local workforce Constructive elements are recycled/produced with local materials/workforce. While beams and floor slabs are produced in the recycling factories, the pillars are casted on site by local workforce. Each day, a layer of concrete is added on each pillar by workers from both communities to reinforce the bounds that unite Greeks & Turks. These collective pillars hold the whole monument and Cyprus' society. 04. Adaptability to future uses Acting as a dig to protect Famagusta's harbor, This collective monument is as a flexible and adaptable grid that allows versatility and future development of the current infrastructure.  A Memorial and a library establish the perpetual duty of remembrance. Archiving memories, collecting times and testimonies in a sanctuary so that Cypriots can preserve a common history and collective memory. Sustainability means there, that the building carries enough resiliency to adapt to the uses of today, but will be able to adapt to the uses needed in the upcoming 100 years.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

01. Reclaiming the Sea A journey across the sea calls Cypriots to introspection. While the concrete ruins of abandoned buildings are being transformed progressively into common infrastructures, a silent place offers an overview of a country at yard for reunification and communities' peaceful co-existence. In an island that has been divided by religious and ethnic concerns, a neutral interface has to be non-partisan and shall embrace a new common culture. Religious symbols leave room for common Cypriot symbols.  02. A journey of forgiveness : a sensory experience Cypriots who take the path of forgiveness, go through successive sensory experiences. The blinding light that reflects in the sea when crossing the footbridge, leads them to a dilemma. On one hand, one can travel in the depths of the memorial, witnessing all common roots and shared History to Greeks and Turks. History fragments are set up in sequences. This is not meant to be a museum. On the other hand, visitors can choose to go through the continuous esplanade above the sea,witnessing finally the historic harbor and the the former abandoned city at yard for reconstruction. It is about a continuous spatial experience to convene a reported period of Common Peace.  03. From common Grounds to common Future A bridge crosses the void that has been dividing Greeks & Turks for 47 years. Below, the genuine and untouched land appears as common roots to both communities. The Sanctuary establishes a sentimental connection with the reality of a place through a specific and perceptive relationship with the surroundings. Healing the wounds of a 47 years lasting conflict to build peace in Cyprus, the continuous monument is an act of care and recovery for 200.000 lives that have been broken with the Cypriot Conflict. Finally, the Mediterranean sea offers a physical place for debate and community self-determination : A resilient structure for an adaptable future.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

01. Famagusta a case study for post-conflict cities It is estimated that 40% of the Greek and over 50% of the Turkish Cypriot population of Cyprus , were displaced by the Turkish invasion of 1974. 165,000 Greek Cypriots and 45,000 Turkish Cypriots have been evicted and never returned home. In both communities, Cypriots are refugees in their own island. In this conflict, what was supposed a provisional evacuation shifted into a permanent exile. The project aims to translate the aspirations and needs of those refugees and their children into new shared places, and advocates as the only option for co-existence a reunited island of Cyprus. 02. Building a collective memory, shared by Greeks & Turks It has been more than four decades that each community builds its own story as a unique victim of the Cyprus conflict, enhancing feelings of anger and injustice across generations. The project focuses not only on building a new shared environment but also to rebuild a collective memory. This memory held by the ancients is conveyed to young generations as a burden to carry. It has to shift towards a collective duty of remembrance and forgiveness to move on. 03. Building together an inclusive society Cyprus had very few years of self-determination before it was once again under the aegis of more powerful states. Hence Cypriots have been tempted to reject their own identity to embrace the allied states. Before war, Famagusta was known as a cosmopolitan city at the forefront of education and culture. Building a collective society made of Greeks & Turks means a complete overhaul of political, institutional, and economic patterns in order to bound new ties. We involve in this societal process a wide broad of actors including NGO, politics, inhabitants from both sides. If no common ground is found within political talks, we believe it can be found in a bottom-up process. Taking back their self-determination, every Cypriot is free to live among a cosmopolitan society

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

01. From a conflict area to a negotiated public space Broadly speaking, worldwide, post conflict areas, have been rebuilt without considering the ability of shared public spaces to recreate social ties between communities. We have been investigating several post-conflict cities including Beirut, Belfast and Sarajevo, both with theoretical studies and field trip reports. We realized that post conflict areas were thought without much consideration of shared interfaces. Indeed, in such contexts, even if the conflict is over, it lasts in the way public spaces are generally designed.  02. Post conflict areas : Shared public places, first step for mutual trust The project we develop in Famagusta relies on Cypriots' remembrances and resiliency. Focusing on common struggle to reclaim the Mediterranean sea, we could set up a new common narrative to both communities. Studying mental maps of each community, we could define neutral interfaces, able to support a common project for both communities. We believe post-conflict areas shall rebuild common infrastructure instead of preventing future disputes by isolating communities settlements. In Famagusta case, we set up a dialogue between the two communities identifying  in their respective wills, what converges. Translating it in an inclusive design, the project intends to be much more than a shared infrastructure. It is a place of common forgiveness, a path through the Mediterranean Sea that was stolen from all of them. Rather than merely considering a national reconciliation as a solemn architectural symbol, we assume that most important places for inclusion and co-living are everyday-life common places: market, bridge,library, community center, shadehouses, coffees... The shared common infrastructure is flexible and answers to informal meetups, temporal appropriations or ephemeral events. We promote a mixed and melted urban fabric where boundaries vanish.   

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

01. Past efforts failed to solve the Cyprus issue The Cyprus peace process refers to negotiations and plans aimed at resolving the Cyprus conflict. All peace talks have failed and resulted in political deadlock. The recent discovery of hydrocarbons in the sea surrounding South Cyprus has added a further international dimension to the Cyprus issue. Turkey has expressed its will to finally transform part of the abandoned city of Famagusta into an amusement park destination. This shift provoked a deep shock among Greek community and a very high tension in Cyprus, unpropitious to a rapprochement of the parties. 02. 2021-2022 : Former borders as first interfaces / shared places The buffer zone that splits literally Cyprus in two, varies in width from less than 20 metres to more than 7 kilometres. This "no man's land" to recover, crosses lands, mountains and cities including the capital : Nicosia. Inclusive and mixed-community places will arise most likely in friction areas, where both communities are historically settled. The chosen interfaces along the line, including Famagusta case, are places of common remembrances. The Famagusta case is transferable to other post-conflict areas dealing with same issues. IDENTITY : Regarding to the Cypriot context, the key objectives within the next year is to build an immaterial bound of social harmony, declined in several matters (art, sport, anthem, gastronomy, flag…) to create, beyond a collective memory, a collective national identity, able to federate Cypriots beyond their respective origin. SHARED PLACES : Contrasting with the immanence of the border, ephemeral collective initiatives along the contested spaces, such as concerts, art exhibition, international sport events, encourage Cypriots to cross beyond their native zone. This serial of one-time events acts, is an attempt to reintroduce co-existence in an open island.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.