[IN]BETWEEN THE BORDERS: a spatial experience of memory

Τhe limit is at the same time answer and question. Is the answer to the conflict, but it turns to be a question of the transgression and again it answers with a limit. Its existence raises the issue of visible and invisible crossings, of a visible / invisible wall. Having as reference point the Dead Zone in Cyprus, a very powerful limit-barrier, the existing thesis project was initiated, which is attempting to take sides on the topic as well as to provide a potential answer to the issue, if architecture can still handle situations where there is a social trauma, to incorporate memories and express feelings. The thesis refers to the creation of a spatial memorial experience, an experience which aims through the architectural space to provoke sentiments and inflame the memory of the later past of the country. The intervention takes place at the Dead Zone, in the capital city of Cyprus, Nicosia and more specifically at the point of intersec¬tion of this artificial barrier with the natural one, the river Pedieos. The Dead Zone, being the separation line between the North and South Cyprus since 1974, is directly related with the war as it has been materialistic proof. It is a raw piece of earth, isolated and for¬gotten in time, a reference point for the memory of the country. On the other hand, Pedieos river, the reference point for the establish¬ment and evolution of the town it is the source and the symbol of life. This contradictory place, the point of intersection of the artifi¬cial with the natural barrier, the intersection point of the continu¬ity and the discontinuity, life and death, becomes the welcoming area for the inhabitants’ memory, becomes the discussion point, point of question and reflection and even a place where answers for the past, the present and the future of this country can be found.