Erin Hunter Degree Project by erin hunter

the difference between you & me...

BELFAST AT THE CROSSROADS- CITY OF WALLS Or the difference between you & me...

• A NECESSARY SEPARATION sectional differences

• THE BARON a story about a boy who lived in the trees

• SIX VIGNETTES of constructed difference

• BELFAST: CITY OF WALLS the troubles

• MEMORIES OF WALL& PLACE the unrelenting difference

• LIBRARY blind exchange within two walls

• PEACE WALLS a productive fiction

•

BELFAST AT THE CROSSROADS- CITY OF WALLS Or the difference between you & me...

• A NECESSARY SEPARATION sectional differences

• THE BARON a story about a boy who lived in the trees

• SIX VIGNETTES of constructed difference

• BELFAST: CITY OF WALLS the troubles

• MEMORIES OF WALL& PLACE the unrelenting difference

• LIBRARY blind exchange within two walls

• PEACE WALLS a productive fiction

•

I read a story about a boy who lived in the trees. His world exists within, but separately of his parent’s world below. He exists in a world without responsibility, war, or resentment. All that separates Cosimo’s world from the world below is a few feet. To reenter his old world, all that it would take is a simple drop to the ground. To enter Cosimo’s world, all it would take is a simple step up to a branch. This small difference is enough to create a clear boundary that functions as both a line that is carefully crossed, and as an edge in which interactions and negotiations take place. Belfast, Northern Ireland is a city divided into two realms, by religious, political, and cultural beliefs. It is divided, literally, by walls. ‘Peace Walls’ have erupted over time at lines of severe conflict: shootings, bombings, and riots. Throughout the civil warfare, the walls have remained, bearing witness and standing as a physical testament to the divide. In a contested city, how is a new world created? A world, however small or expansive, that exists as a separate, solitary entity within a larger world? How, and where, does it engage with the past, the world left behind? How can this world provide an escape, however brief or enduring, from a disputed reality?

REFERENCES Acconci,Vito. “Public Space in a Private Time.” Critical Inquiry (The University of Chicago Press) 16, no. 4 (1990): 900-918. Acconci,Vito. “Steps Into Performance (And Out).” In Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings, edited by Kristine Stiles and Peter Selz, 759-767. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. Auge, Marc. Non-Place: An Introduction to Supermodernity. London:Verso, 1995. Boal, Fredenrick W. “Territoriality on the Shankill-Falls Divide, Belfast.” Irish Geography, November 2008: 349-366. Boal, Frederick W., and David N. Livingston. “The Frontier in the City: Ethnonationalism in Belfast.” International Political Science Review, 1984: 161-179. Boal, Frederick W., and Stephen A. Royle, . Enduring City: Belfast in the Twentieth Century. Belfast: Blackstaff Press Limited, 2006. Calame, Jon, and Esther Ruth Charlesworth. Divided Cities: Belfast, Beirut, Jerusalem, Mostar, and Nicosia. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. Evans, Robin. Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays. Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1997. Hackett, Mark. Forum for Alternative Belfast. 2009. http://www.forumbelfast.org/contact.php (ac cessed March 2011). Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension. New York: Anchor Books, 1966. McCann, May. “Music and Politics in Ireland: the Specificity of the Folk Revival in Belfast.” British Forum for Ethnomusicology, 1995: 51-75. Santino, Jack. “Light Up the Sky: Halloween Bonfires and Cultural Hegemony in Northern Ireland.” Western Folklore, Summer 1996: 213-231. University of Ulster. CAIN: Archive of Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. 1996-2011. http:// cain.ulst.ac.uk/ (accessed March 2011). Wright, Frank. Two Lands on One Soil: Ulster Politics Before Home Rule. Dublin: Gill & MacMillan, 1996.

A NECESSARY SEPARATION sectional differences

The exploration began with an interest in the Solitary State of Being. There is a state of isolation in which an individual finds comfort, repose, and a sense of self-awareness. A displacement of the body within its context separates an individual and defines his own space, but also establishes difference and draws attention to both the displaced body and the realm left behind. In this displacement, or separation, a new realm, or character, is defined.The nature of the displacement becomes significant to this exploration. Should the displaced remain above, below, or within its original context, relationships between the two are re-established, negotiated, and redefined.

From eye level, the space within is hidden...

to lower your body to the appropriate height means to separate yourself from those around you...

From eye level, the space within is hidden...

to lower your body to the appropriate height means to separate yourself from those around you...

Light is collected from above, then reflected and manipulated...

establishing a space within that is separate from, but dependent upon, its exterior.

Light is collected from above, then reflected and manipulated...

establishing a space within that is separate from, but dependent upon, its exterior.

An elevated ground plane separates you from your surroundings...

You can remain a part of the world around you... but separate still...

A shift in horizon heightens your awareness of body and place...

You can remain a part of the world around you... but separate still...

A shift in horizon heightens your awareness of body and place...

How can two worlds (or two selves) exist independently of, and intertwined within, one another?

Belfast, Northern Ireland is a city divided into two realms, by religious, political, and cultural beliefs. It is divided, literally, by walls. ‘Peace Walls’ have erupted over time at lines of severe conflict: shootings, bombings, and riots. Throughout the civil warfare, the walls have remained, bearing witness and standing as a physical testament to the divide.

“We are losing our city... our streets and our spaces... We are obsessed with barriers and boundaries; not just barriers between the ‘traditonal’ communities, but barriers between the city centre and neighbouring communities, and between the institutions of 1 government and the people.”

But it is these ‘barriers and boundaries’ that we learn to mold and manipulate in order to manage our daily lives. There are boundaries between us all: walls, obstructions, ground changes, spaces, disagreements, and distances. The difficult negotiations of these boundaries (how we maintain our independent lives and our need to work and live together) is what makes them all the more meaningful.

________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Hackett, Mark. Forum for Alternative Belfast. 2009. http://www.forumbelfast.org/contact.php (accessed March 2011).

the difference between you & me...

THE BARON a story about a boy who lived in the trees

Italo Calvino’s fictional novel, “The Baron in the Trees”, serves as a precedent study of these negotiations and reinterpretations. Italo Calvino tells the story of a young boy from an aristocratic society who defies his family by climbing into the trees in their backyard himself that is separate and independent of the world of his parents. Bold and defiant, Cosimo abandons his life on the ground in exchange for an independent life in the tree canopy of his family’s orchard. In the trees, Cosimo builds his own world, separate from that which exists below. While Cosimo lives independently in his new world throughout the rest of his life, the space between the trees and the ground becomes the place of engagement between Cosimo and the inhabitants of the world below. As this world grows and develops, Cosimo begins to define new relationships with the world below, while maintaining his valued sense of control within his own world. 1

________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959.

NOTES

________________________________________________________________________________ 2.

The First Tree: Cosimo had climbed most of the trees in his parents’ back yard before. This climb, though, was different.This time, the end goal was not to simply be in the tree, it was to escape through the trees. The oak tree that was once a shelter in itself was now simply an entrance, a vestibule, into a much more expansive and seemingly infinite world. The oak was the tree through which Cosimo and his brother continued to communicate. It was the tree in which he maintained his lessons with his teacher. It was the point at which Cosimo’s world and his parents’ world both separated, and then rejoined. The Girl Behind the Wall: The act of climbing the trees became a method of bypassing walls and boundaries. Occupying the tree branches meant that Cosimo was no longer restricted by stone walls, houses, or creeks. These were only boundaries on the ground below. In the trees, Cosimo simply passes over the walls. In the trees, walls are traversable, walkable, and inhabitable. Beyond the walls, Cosimo meets Viola, a young girl previously unknown to him. This is only the first step in a series of explorations and redefinitions of spaces and boundaries by Cosimo. The Orchards: The fruit orchards were infested with gangs of young children who stole and damaged the produce. Their relationship with the orchard farmers is volatile. When Cosimo joins these gangs in the fruit trees, the relationship between the children and the farmers is redefined as a reciprocal one. Because the farmers know Cosimo and his family, they are more accepting of his presence in the trees, especially upon organizing beneficial routines with him and the children. The gangs helped the farmers prune and clean the trees, and kept watch for animals. In return, the farmers allowed the children a portion of the fruits.

Constructing Space within a novel...

Viola: Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo meets the girl who lives next door. (Calvino, Italo.The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. p. 16-23)

The other boys in the fruit orchards: Cosimo encounters the young thieves who steal fruit from the orchards to survive. (p. 32-35)

Campfire stories: Cosimo befriends strangers in the woods and shares stories by the fire. (p. 65)

A shelter in the trees: Cosimo builds a shelter for himself with scrap brought to him by his younger brother and his mother. (p. 60-62)

________________________________________________________________________________ 10.

Possessions: Cosimo builds a home for himself, including the shelter and a library of books. ( p. 93)

11.

The Baron’s Librarian: Cosimo trades fur and meat for books from the book dealer. (p. 91)

12.

Community: Cosimo seeks out a community of expatriated Spaniards and lives with them for nearly a year. (p. 125-132)

13.

What not to be- the Secret Beekeeper: Cosimo remembered his uncle, the Cavalier, as the secretive and isolated person that he did not wish to be, even in the trees. (. p. 85)

14.

The death of a friend in the trees: Cosimo befriends a thief, Giani de Brughi, in the trees. But the trees become a hanging device instead of a safe haven for him. (p. 91)

15.

The cemetery: When Cosimo’s father passes away, he can only follow the procession until he reaches the cemetery gates, because the trees within are too dense to pass. (p. 121)

16.

His mother’s deathbed: At the time of his mother’s death, Cosimo remains in the tree outside of her bedroom window. (p. 145)

17.

The end: Even at death, Cosimo refuses to climb down from the trees. He forces his friends and family to attend to him in the branches. (p. 214-215)

NOTES

________________________________________________________________________________ 2.

Constructing Space within a novel...

Viola: Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo meets the girl who lives next door. (Calvino, Italo.The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. p. 16-23)

The other boys in the fruit orchards: Cosimo encounters the young thieves who steal fruit from the orchards to survive. (p. 32-35)

Campfire stories: Cosimo befriends strangers in the woods and shares stories by the fire. (p. 65)

A shelter in the trees: Cosimo builds a shelter for himself with scrap brought to him by his younger brother and his mother. (p. 60-62)

________________________________________________________________________________ 10.

Possessions: Cosimo builds a home for himself, including the shelter and a library of books. ( p. 93)

11.

The Baron’s Librarian: Cosimo trades fur and meat for books from the book dealer. (p. 91)

12.

Community: Cosimo seeks out a community of expatriated Spaniards and lives with them for nearly a year. (p. 125-132)

13.

What not to be- the Secret Beekeeper: Cosimo remembered his uncle, the Cavalier, as the secretive and isolated person that he did not wish to be, even in the trees. (. p. 85)

14.

The death of a friend in the trees: Cosimo befriends a thief, Giani de Brughi, in the trees. But the trees become a hanging device instead of a safe haven for him. (p. 91)

15.

The cemetery: When Cosimo’s father passes away, he can only follow the procession until he reaches the cemetery gates, because the trees within are too dense to pass. (p. 121)

16.

His mother’s deathbed: At the time of his mother’s death, Cosimo remains in the tree outside of her bedroom window. (p. 145)

17.

The end: Even at death, Cosimo refuses to climb down from the trees. He forces his friends and family to attend to him in the branches. (p. 214-215)

THE BARON a story about a boy who lived in the trees

SIX VIGNETTES of constructed difference

SHELTER For Cosimo, the trees were a world of his own, not because of physical boundaries that keep others out, but because of the nature of climbing trees: the bending, the jumping, the grabbing, the falling, that deters most from entering. The trees become a hiding place in which Cosimo controls his own reality and the methods through which he reconnects with the world below. Cosimo constructs a shelter within the branches and underneath the canopy. The porous surroundings let rainwater fall through. The lantern within is a beacon that calls Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s brother to him. 1 The branches and leaves cast shadows against the walls.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 1. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 60-62

LIBRARY Cosimo builds a library in the trees. He trades fruit and furs for novels, encyclopedias, histories, and stories. He constructs cases to protect his collection with material given to him from the ground below. His library hangs in the branches, sheltered by the canopy. As Cosimo grows, so does his library. Through these writings he gathers, Cosimo engages with the world below him. In the trees, Cosimo escapes from reality. He understands the world by stepping outside of it. Here, the rules and restrictions of the world left behind no longer apply. In the trees, Cosimo befriends thieves, criminals, and bandits. He forms alliances with merchants, farmers, and bureaucratic officials. He comes to know these people he would not have known on the ground below. Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s library becomes the bond between Giani de Brughi, the criminal, and himself. It is a collection of writings created by the act of sharing information that is in turn, shared between people.2 In a contested city, a library becomes a shared collection of things, stories, histories, and myths. The library is an escape from a world divided. The library of Belfast is a shared void at the edge of two worlds. Hidden within a canopy, the library is its own isolated realm. Its walls accumulate through the collection of cases, books, and tables, which protect and hide its readers. Cracks created within the walls suggest a memory of the world left behind. An opening above allows light and view to the collective and shared sky.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 2. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 93

BONFIRE In the woods, Cosimo befriends strangers. The forests became a haven for him and for others. The woods are a place for wanderers, travelers, expatriates, and loners. In the woods, we build campfires and tell stories as the fire warms us. The smoke becomes a mask through which we look with unfocused vision.3 “Back in the fifties, we’d look forward to October or November, when every other day, smog would penetrate and cloak the still dark morning streets… we’d feel our way with fingertips: doors and hyphenated window sills, verticals and horizontals; the untouchable gloom at the end of a gable wall…” 4 At the campfire in the woods, Cosimo sees through this mask and is seen through the mask. This mask of smoke and darkness creates a common difference. The campfire is a gathering, or a collection, of people and their stories. A bonfire is a celebration. Supposedly, Halloween is the only non-sectarian holiday celebrated in Northern Ireland. Divided peoples mask themselves in costume and roam the streets together unknown. At the celebratory bonfires, smoke and flames become additional layers of disguise as collective folklore is shared. Fireworks, universally accepted on this day alone, extend the celebration upward. The masks thicken throughout the night. 5

_________________________________________________________________________________ 3. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 65 4. Boal, Frederick W., and Stephen A. Royle, . Enduring City: Belfast in the Twentieth Century. Belfast: Blackstaff Press Limited, 2006. P. 321 5. Santino, Jack. “Light Up the Sky: Halloween Bonfires and Cultural Hegemony in Northern Ireland.” Western Folklore, Summer 1996: 213-231

MEMORIAL When Cosimo climbs into the trees, he defines a new world for himself, a new way of living. In his own world, he can escape from the reality of the world below. The boundaries of this world seem nonexistent, because as long as there are tree branches, there is ground. But, when the branches are unreachable, or unoccupiable, this world disappears. The Italian Cyprus tree branches grow in a particularly way, densely upward. Their nature establishes a boundary and defines the edge of Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s world. When Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father passes away, he follows the funeral procession to the edge of the cemetery, as far as the trees allow him to go. Here, at the edge of the world, Cosimo must either remain alone in the trees or abandon them for reality. In the novel existed two losses; one for our parents, who choose to remain in the world below, and one for our children, who demand and create a new world of their own. This is a memorial for two worlds. Above the ground, mourners coexist anonymously. 6

_________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 121

GATHERING On Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first day in the trees, he discovers a group of bandits who have made their home in the trees, as well. Unlike Cosimoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s way of living, though, the bandits do not restrict themselves to the trees alone, but move freely from earth to tree to rooftop. Cosimo recognizes himself in these bandits, despite their drastically different backgrounds and upbringings. Cosimo establishes his independence in the trees, but finds comfort in the presence of others like himself. 7 Upon hearing of tree-dwellers in a neighboring town, Cosimo seeks out his comrades. Expatriated Spaniards develop an organized community within the trees. Again, Cosimo finds comfort in knowing others like him. Cosimo lives within their community for some time, until they make their return to the earth below. Here, Cosimo is asked to return with them and become a permanent member of their community. He refused to do so, and maintains his separation from responsibilities and realities of the world below.8 This gathering is not a chance encounter, but an event of sharing and community. It is sought.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 7. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 32-35 8. Calvino, Italo. The Baron in the Trees. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1959. P. 125-132

CEILIDH A ceilidh was originally a traditional Irish story-telling festival, and Is currently defined as a community gathering in which people meet, tell stories, and play folk music. Irish folk-music is inherently non-sectarian. It, by definition, does not make political or religious references.9 It is anonymous. It is a common ground, a shared history that pre-exists the divide. A wall, meant to divide two worlds is split, and in between is nothing. Here, at the edge of two worlds, a new world is created. An abandoned house is taken over. Bricked up windows are reopened: one at the ground, for entry, and others at the top. Above, a fire burns and stories are shared.

_________________________________________________________________________________ 9. McCann, May. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Music and Politics in Ireland: the Specificity of the Folk Revival in Belfast.â&#x20AC;? British Forum for Ethnomusicology, 1995: 51-75.

SIX VIGNETTES of constructed difference

BELFAST: CITY OF WALLS ‘the troubles’

Interface-- a surface forming a common boundary of two bodies Interface or spaces. The place at which independent and often unrelated systems meet and act on, or communicate with, one another. interface areas (Belfast, Northern Ireland)- name given to places where two highly segregated residential communities meet, particularly places in which close adjacencies have lead to tensions and disputes. Areas in which Peace Walls have been erected.

Northern Ireland is, politically, a part of the United Kingdom. Physically, it remains joined to the Republic of Ireland, to which it belonged until 1921. Questions of culture, religion, and identity were, and have continued to be, points of severe conflict among its residents.

Belfast is a microcosm of the cultural & social conditions of Northern Ireland. ‘Peace Walls’ have become an urban phenomenon of a divided city. They allow conflicting societies to coexist. Fragmented walls separate communities. The spaces between these fragments is the space in which these people live together.

Alexandra Park

Old Park Ballysillan

1991

1994 1970

Ardoyne

Clifton 1970

1994

Tiger’s Bay 1970

New Lodge Shankill 1988 1969

New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

1980

West Link

Short Strand 1970

Alexandra Park

Old Park Ballysillan

1991

1994 1970

Ardoyne

Clifton 1970

1994

Tiger’s Bay 1970

New Lodge Shankill 1988 1969

New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

1980

West Link

Short Strand 1970

Alexandra Park

Old Park Ballysillan

Ardoyne

Clifton

Alexandra Park

Old Park

Tigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay

Ballysillan

Ardoyne

Clifton

New Lodge

Shankill New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

West Link

Approximately 42% of the population of Belfast is Catholic. This percentage can also be noted in the country of Northern Ireland as a whole.

The shaded areas are drawn according to demographic information...

Tigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay

Shankill

Short Strand

New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

Short Strand

West Link

Approximately 47% of the population of Belfast is Protestant. This percentage can also be noted in the country of Northern Ireland as a whole.

The Peace Wall lines are drawn according to demographics, at the sites of the most intense meetings.

Alexandra Park

Old Park Ballysillan

Ardoyne

Clifton

Alexandra Park

Old Park

Tigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay

Ballysillan

Ardoyne

Clifton

New Lodge

Shankill New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

West Link

Approximately 42% of the population of Belfast is Catholic. This percentage can also be noted in the country of Northern Ireland as a whole.

The shaded areas are drawn according to demographic information...

Tigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bay

Shankill

Short Strand

New Barnsley

Falls Springmartin

Ballymurphy

Short Strand

West Link

Approximately 47% of the population of Belfast is Protestant. This percentage can also be noted in the country of Northern Ireland as a whole.

The Peace Wall lines are drawn according to demographics, at the sites of the most intense meetings.

A steel fence 3 meters high, a security wall, electronically controlled gates, a multi-level fence, boundary walls, security gates...

...a wall and fence, a brick wall with a fence above, the wall of a commercial property...

A steel fence 3 meters high, a security wall, electronically controlled gates, a multi-level fence, boundary walls, security gates...

...a wall and fence, a brick wall with a fence above, the wall of a commercial property...

...a low gate barrier permanently locked, a metal gate, a steel fence with mesh above...

... a mixture of brick wall and fencing, a pedestrian access gate...

...a low gate barrier permanently locked, a metal gate, a steel fence with mesh above...

... a mixture of brick wall and fencing, a pedestrian access gate...

...a section of steel palisade fence, a brick wall, a steel mesh fence...

... a five meter high barrier, a double fence.

...a section of steel palisade fence, a brick wall, a steel mesh fence...

... a five meter high barrier, a double fence.

SHANKILL/ FALLS The first elements of the Shankill/Falls Peace Wall were put in place in 1969, after a night of intense rioting between two adjacent residential communities; one side Catholic, the other side Protestant. Communities which once shared a common street of shops and restaurants, are now split by an enormous wall and its shadow (the burning, neglect, and disuse of areas too close to the wall). The Shankill/ Falls Peace Wall was the first police barricade constructed in the city of Belfast. For the next 40 years, this wall extended linearly, attaching to derelict and abandoned buildings and taking multiple forms. Most sections are planned and provided by the government. Some areas are appropriated privacy fences and building facades. Systems of gates allow temporary, monitored access to the other side. It continues to witness violence from both sides.

The Shankill/Falls Peace Wall stands approximately 9 meters at its highest.

Over time, memorials began to grow out of the wall, via mural paintings and small walled gardens. Now, this wall acts as a severe divide, but also as a site of gathering for peace rallies, drum circles, and interfaith sports. Along the line, another realm of Belfast gathers in protest of the contentions and divides.

ALEXANDRA PARK The Alexandra Park Peace Wall was erected in 1994, days after the ceasefire agreements, out of a continued distrust. The wall saw little violence, but led to the neglect of the surrounding areas. Homes have been abandoned, bricked up, and demolished on both sides. Despite this neglect, however, the park has become a gathering place for youth groups from both sides. The wall now acts as a two-sided canvas for nonviolent, nonsectarian paintings. It stands as an artifact of the third realm of Belfast.

SHORT STRAND The government began construction on this wall in 1970, and it has continued into the past few years. This particular wall divides an entire street in two, cutting off circulation completely. Here, a memorial garden has been constructed, at the point of divide. Other gardens and monuments spring up further down the line. The third city of Belfast hold rallies and candlelight vigils to honor all of those lost to the other two worlds.

BELFAST: CITY OF WALLS ‘the troubles’

All statistical information in this section obtained from CAIN: Archive of Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland: University of Ulster. CAIN: Archive of Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland. 1996-2011. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/ (accessed March-May 2011).

MEMORIES OF WALL& PLACE the unrelenting difference

ANDERSONSTOWN POLICE BARRACKS The community of Andersonstown, Belfast, has been the site of two police internments. In their story, the violence occurred between the residents of the community and those placed there to protect. The image of the Police Barracks at the corner of Falls Road and Glenn Road is one which remains strong in the memory of the community. Over time, monuments, murals, gatherings, and dance rallies take place as memorials, and as projections of the future of the communities of Belfast. Proposal for the Third Realm of Belfast: The Peace Walls were constructed explicitly to divide. They were built to deter intentions, avert direction, and separate worlds. Over time, these walls have, and will continue to become, points of gathering, memorial, and projection of a new Belfast. This is not a proposal to tear down walls, but to redefine them. The newest wall of Belfast, on the site of the former Police Barracks, is a collector for this Third Realm of Belfast, a realm in which we all coexist together, masked and anonymous. In this wall exists a void: A library is a shared collection of things, stories, and histories. It is a place of blind exchange, and common possessions. It is a place to remember the past. Community Classrooms and Studios become places in which to gather, create, and project the future. An event space is one in which these projections are shared and absorbed. This new wall will act as a hub for the Third Realm of Belfast, one which pushes for the redefinitions of the existing Peace Walls of Belfast.

14 July 1971 11 August 1971 01 November 1971 01 November 1971 30 March 1972 12 May 1972 27 May 1972 30 May 1972 06 June 1972 08 June 1972 16 July 1972 04 August 1972 14 August 1972 14 August 1972 23 August 1972 28 September 1981 30 September 1972 29 January 1973 29 March 1973 10 August 1973 09 April 1974 11 November 1975 17 January 1976 29 July 1976 29 July 1976 29 July 1976 26 August 1976 05 May 1977 27 July 1977 04 August 1977 14 November 1977 07 May 1978 25 May 1978 25 May 1978 16 November 1978 05 April 1979 05 April 1979 15 July 1979 12 October 1979 31 March 1980 26 June 1980 09 August 1980 22 February 1981 27 April 1981 22 April 1982 12 August 1984 14 September 1986 21December 1986 04 June 1987 19 March 1988 19 March 1988 30 September 1990 30 September 1990 03 November 1991 01 May 1993 26 October 1993 26 October 1993 05 September 1995

British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Irish Republican Army killed by British Army Royal Ulster Constabulary killed by Irish Republican Army Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by unknown group British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Royal Ulster Constabulary killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Loyalists Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Loyalists Catholic Civilian killed by Loyalists Catholic Civilian killed by Loyalists Catholic Royal Ulster Constabulary killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic ex-British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Official Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Protestant Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Protestant Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by Loyalists Catholic Civilian killed by Irish National Liberation Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Protestant Royal Ulster Constabulary killed by Irish National Liberation Army Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by Royal Ulster Constabulary Catholic Irish Republican Army killed by British Army CatholicIrish National Liberation Army killed by Irish Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Liberation Organization British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army British Army killed by Irish Republican Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by British Army Catholic Civilian killed by Royal Ulster Constabulary Catholic Ex Irish Republican Army killed by Ulster Freedom Fighters Catholic Civilian killed by Ulster Freedom Fighters Catholic Civilian killed by Ulster Freedom Fighters Catholic Civilian killed by Irish Republican Army

24 21 28 31 39 44 20 27 29 24 43 21 20 36 25 37 43 22 33 22 53 18 25 62 27 65 20 22 39 55 21 18 22 18 53 25 20 69 24 15 45 19 28 28 19 22 29 31 21 24 23 17 18 17 39 54 28 29

A list of every conflict-related death that has occurred in Andersonstown between 1969 and the present.

24 21 28 31 39 44 20 27 29 24 43 21 20 36 25 37 43 22 33 22 53 18 25 62 27 65 20 22 39 55 21 18 22 18 53 25 20 69 24 15 45 19 28 28 19 22 29 31 21 24 23 17 18 17 39 54 28 29

A list of every conflict-related death that has occurred in Andersonstown between 1969 and the present.

Amidst the troubles, and after, memorials have been constructed as physical memorials of these shared memories.

PROPOSAL FOR THE THIRD REALM OF BELFAST: The Peace Walls were constructed explicitly to divide. They were built to deter intentions, avert direction, and separate worlds. Over time, these walls have, and will continue to become, points of gathering, memorial, and projection of a new Belfast. This is not a proposal to tear down walls, but to redefine them. The newest wall of Belfast, on the site of the former Police Barracks, is a collector for this Third Realm of Belfast, a realm in which we all coexist together, masked and anonymous. In this wall exists a void: A library is a shared collection of things, stories, and histories. It is a place of blind exchange, and common possessions. It is a place to remember the past. Community Classrooms and Studios become places in which to gather, create, and project the future. An event space is one in which these projections are shared and absorbed. This new wall will act as a hub for the Third Realm of Belfast, one which pushes for the redefinitions of the existing Peace Walls of Belfast.

The site of the former Police Barracks sits at the Crossroads of a major urban thoroughfare and a highly segregated Catholic community (Andersonstown). Just north of the site is a Belfast city bus depot, a well-used city park, and a City Cemetery. On its east side is the Catholic Cemetery of Belfast. Further south, down Falls Road, lies several shopping centers and performance/lecture venues. This area is becoming a hub for festivals, gatherings, rallies, etc.

View of the Approach from the South, with the Milltown Catholic Cemetery on the right.

View of the Approach from the North, with the Belfast City Park on the right.

View of the Approach from the South, with the Milltown Catholic Cemetery on the right.

View of the Approach from the North, with the Belfast City Park on the right.

Panorama of site in its current condition, from Falls Road (urban) side.

Panorama of site in its current condition, from Glenn Road (community) side.

Panorama of site in its current condition, from Falls Road (urban) side.

Panorama of site in its current condition, from Glenn Road (community) side.

The site will be the home of the newest Peace Wall of Belfast, one which engages with the existing urban infrastructure of the city.

MEMORIES OF WALL& PLACE the unrelenting difference

LIBRARY blind exchange within two walls

The walls of Belfast are masks between conflicted peoples. Their discontinuous nature means that they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t explicitly divide- one simply must walk around the edge of the barrier to cross over to the other side. They provide a sense of comfort to the two sides, a necessary separation, one which makes the interactions around the walls more meaningful, in their calibration. They allow both sides to control the levels of interaction with the other. When these residents of warring communities enter common, shared territories, it is a knowing and careful gesture. In a city of conflict and divide, peace walls provide a necessary separation between Catholics and Protestants, Nationalists and Unionists, Republicans and Loyalists. Boundaries are provide momentary and enduring masks between you and me, or between us and them... Boundaries mediate, separate and protect the two realms of Belfast. Gaps and permeations become moments of engagement with another. Masks and Reveals in the wall are calibrated to form an enclosure (a void) in which anonymous, masked exchanges take place.

Section: the collected stories of a library encircle the bonfire that burns within.

First Level Floor Plan An open corridor is a break in the boundary, a focal point that connects the two scales: the community and the urban. It is an invitation to the other side.

Second Level Floor Plan Breaks in the walls reveal the outside They enclose new programs.

Section a break in the floor reveals the stacks below a break in the roof reveals the sky above.

Section

First Level Floor Plan An open corridor is a break in the boundary, a focal point that connects the two scales: the community and the urban. It is an invitation to the other side.

Second Level Floor Plan Breaks in the walls reveal the outside They enclose new programs.

Section a break in the floor reveals the stacks below a break in the roof reveals the sky above.

Section

Our former ground can no longer be occupied. We can now only exist in the realms above and below the damaged earth. In these walls, we hide. In the stories- the fictions, we immerse ourselves. The fictions hang above the ground, from the sky. The histories are buried in the ground. They remain part of our collective past. The collections of pages accumulate around a center, a void, in which we gather. The words mask us from the outside- chaos, and from each other- discontent.

Ground Floor Plan A break in the wall erupts into the exterior firepit, the event.

Site Plan

Section A pit in the ground contains gatherings A fire burns, around which we share stories.

Ground Floor Plan A break in the wall erupts into the exterior firepit, the event.

Site Plan

Section A pit in the ground contains gatherings A fire burns, around which we share stories.

Two opposing staircases establish a linear progression along an edge, and establish a dialogue between the two scales (the two occupants: the community and the city). Moments of Reveal at each end of the wall allow a fragment of a view to the outside. One to the cemetery and Black Mountain (the archaic past), and one to the city center (the present, the Walls).

cemetery...

mountain...

Walls...

cemetery...

mountain...

Walls...

LIBRARY blind exchange within two walls

PEACE WALLS a productive fiction

A crack on the ground floor is an open corridor between the community and the urban scales. The space between the library and the Walls reveals the gathering space below, as it spills out into the firepit. A thin, translucent wall tilts above you, towards the Wall, masking the upper levels from below. First Floor Plan

Section showing stacks within the walls, and shared reading rooms projecting through them.

Below ground, the gathering space erupts out of the Wall, towards the urban street , becoming a masked pit in which people gather, stories are shared, and fires burn.

Ground Floor Plan

Elevation showing reading rooms and office projections

Below ground, the gathering space erupts out of the Wall, towards the urban street , becoming a masked pit in which people gather, stories are shared, and fires burn.

Ground Floor Plan

Elevation showing reading rooms and office projections

As you move up through the stairwells on either end, masks allow protected views to the outside, through the walls; One to the cemetery and Black Mountain, and one to the city center. Shared spaces project through the Walls, to the outside, but remain attached to, and supported by, the Walls. Second Floor Plan

Elevation showing view of Peace Walls and Library within from Falls Road

Along the community Wall, readers are masked from the urban promenade. Along the urban Wall, the masks reveal the approach. At the top is the greatest distance between interior and exterior, the largest gap between you and the Peace Walls. This distance becomes a separation between offices and smaller reading nooks, and the stacks to be explored. In passing through this distance, the space below is revealed to you. Second Floor Plan

Secion showing Firepit in the ground

At the top, the glazed walls tilt inward and reveal the sky above.

Roof Plan

Elevation showing reading nooks on Glenn Road

At the top, the glazed walls tilt inward and reveal the sky above.

Roof Plan

Elevation showing reading nooks on Glenn Road

The stacks alone are protected within the two Walls. Passing through a crack in the Peace Walls mean presenting oneself to another.

Section showing the library volume held away from the Peace Walls

The stacks alone are protected within the two Walls. Passing through a crack in the Peace Walls mean presenting oneself to another.

Section showing the library volume held away from the Peace Walls

PEACE WALLS a productive fiction

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thus it is that ideas about the nature of things are built into the structure of our surroundings, creating a novel topos which reflects the patterns of its own, all too human, causes, and which becomes, in the end, self-justifyingif only because to ignore the existence of a wall is an act of the sheerest folly, leading inevitably to concussion and unsightly abrasions.â&#x20AC;? *

_______________________________________________________________________________ * Evans, Robin. Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays. Cambridge: the MIT Press, 1997 (p 41).