Liminal Border Spaces: An Architectural - Political Anthropology

Abstract

What began as exploration of societal lines and the social, political, and economic influence grew to include an investigation of the concept of liminality and both its spatial and temporal characteristics. Using Belfast, Northern Ireland, U.K. to serve as context and liminality as a design ideology, in-depth ethnographic research and identification of liminal design principles produced as the outcome of this thesis two specific design proposals. These proposals address the peace wall conditions that currently divide areas of the city as a result of the Northern Ireland Conflict, in a way which aims to bridge the gap between communities and strive towards future unification. In addition to specific proposals for Belfast, production of overarching process outline allows for transfer-ability of the findings of this thesis to other specific geographies. The transferable aspect of this research explores the role of the architectural designer in addressing this typology of condition and their various associated conflicts.