From War to Peace port
K. Ustuba (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
A. Staničić – Mentor (TU Delft - Situated Architecture)
M.G. Vink – Mentor (TU Delft - History, Form & Aesthetics)
P.H.M. Jennen – Mentor (TU Delft - Teachers of Practice / AE+T)
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Abstract
Former military infrastructure, in the form of individual structures or whole military areas, tend to become functionless, often further becoming neglected. Additionally they tend to act as a source of dissonance, contestation, different interpretations, especially in places with histories that have diverse perspectives rising from different ethnic groups. They entangle a variety of issues - political, cultural, social, urban. Could there be an alternative to such sites? Instead of becoming neglected with their stories and histories forgotten, could they become an integral part of their surrounding context, encouraging remembrance and co-existence of a multiplicity of narratives and voices? Could they become a catalyst for communities to come together and encourage an exchange of knowledge?
The former fortification complex around the city of Liepāja together with the former military base of Karosta presents a site that entangles both neglect and dissonance. Having lived through a variety of historic periods and being mostly associated with the Soviet Occupation, the place has always been seen and portrayed as one with a heavy and dark past. The research therefore aims to unpack the reason for the neglect present in the neighbourhood as well as to uncover stories of the place that have not been exposed. The research outcome comes together as a biography of place that addresses the complexity of the site and provides a further base for the design proposal on the chosen site.