Yvonne Yang

Master of Urban Design_Studio C
Contested States: A Bi-Communal Plaza (Nicosia)

The bi-communal plaza project is a process of engaging the local communities of Nicosia through a participatory design approach to deliver an integrated sensitive space that is celebrated and shared by all.

The project was developed through initial site analysis, which led into an experimental cabinet that materialises the analysis and my understanding of the existing conditions of Nicosia. The cabinet plays on the concepts of memory, loss and reflection through a series of fragmented projections reflected from various mirror dimensions and angles. The cabinet sets the base for the urban intervention and plaza proposal which both builds on the idea that a wall can be more than a barrier if visual or physical penetration is allowed through.

The urban intervention portrays a series of misaligned walls, windows and doors that allows people to physically engage with the space. This is then translated into the plaza design; a testing ground for movement and occupation of spaces through current impermeable barriers. The bi-communal plaza incorporates concepts of adaptive reuse, shared spaces and spaces for conversation and exchange to encourage the communities to be involved in projects that impact them and their environment.